


Cowboy Blues

by smmahamazing



Series: Cowboy Blues Universe [1]
Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Engagement, F/M, Fluff, Listening to sad love songs vibe, Lost Love, Modern Era, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:20:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 23,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23867425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smmahamazing/pseuds/smmahamazing
Summary: What originally started as a contribution to the 2020 Inuyasha White Day Event on tumblr. The last time Kagome had been on a real date was five years ago. She hated going on blind dates, no one could live up to her expectations. Because the one thing that no one else had known about was that about three months ago, she had met a guy. And he had completely flipped her world upside down.
Relationships: Higurashi Kagome/InuYasha, Miroku/Sango (InuYasha)
Series: Cowboy Blues Universe [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2164707
Comments: 9
Kudos: 47





	1. Chapter 1

**🎵“They say you know when you know, what do you do when it don't, they're saying ‘love it'll happen if it's meant to happen’, but what do you do when it don’t”.🎵**

At least Kagome could say that she only has one cat snuggled up with her in bed, although Buyo was big enough to feel like three. She had been laying in bed for the past hour, the feeling of utter defeat pinning her where she lay. Her mind begged her to turn off the music playing through her speakers, but her body resisted any thought of movement. What did it matter in the end anyways? All the hard work she put into the last week and a half was wasted. And she had been doing so well! Up until today that is. As soon as Kagome had came home and crawled into her bed, turning on the music via phone app, she let down the walls she had been building up, giving in to every emotion she had shut away.

  
It had all started earlier in the day, after Kagome was done at work. She needed to make a simple trip to the gas station, a task that should have only taken her maybe five minutes, but some unseen force in this universe just wanted her to be miserable. Swiping her card at the pump, she jumped at an all too familiar voice calling her name.

  
“Kagome! Fancy meeting you here!”

  
_‘Ugh.’_

  
“Oh, h-hello Hojo.” Kagome had such a bad case of tunnel vision that she failed to notice her friend’s husband and old schoolmate pull up to the pump right beside her as she inserted the gas nozzle into her tank.

  
“How have you been Kagome? Ayumi and I haven’t heard from you in a while, we we're starting to get worried.”

  
“Oh, I’ve just been really busy with work and all, you know how it goes”, Kagome chuckled awkwardly, running her hand through her hair. This was the last thing she wanted to deal with today. And Kagome was pretty sure she was stationed at the slowest pump in all of history.

  
“Well, it's a good thing I ran into you here! Ayumi wanted to invite you to dinner with us tomorrow.”

  
_‘Ab-so-lut-ely not.’_ “No, that’s okay Hojo, I’m not about to put you guys out on Valentine's Day. Don't worry about me, and just enjoy your night together.”

  
Hojo looked like he was about to argue with her when the pump connected to Kagome's car clicked, letting her know her time at the gas station was finally up. _‘About damn time, too.’_

  
“Well, I’m all finished up here, so I’m going to head out to beat the traffic. I'll talk to you guys later, okay!” Kagome spoke in one breath as she dived into the drivers seat and sped away, leaving Hojo behind looking confused, and mildly worried for his old friend.

  
Kagome had been avoiding everyone since the beginning of February. She _knew_ that her friends and family meant well. She knew they only wanted to see her happy, but Kagome didn't know if she could do it; another Valentine's Day filled with people throwing her yet another elaborate pity party. If she didn’t know any better, it was like they thought she forgot that she was almost 30 and still single. But Kagome was determined that this year was going to be different. She figured that if she just ignored everyone and stayed home until Valentine's Day had passed that she could bypass all her own feelings of inadequacy and loneliness. And since the first week of February, she was _nailing_ it. Kagome worked in the kitchen of a little diner, and since business is always a little heavier leading up to the holiday of love, she had signed herself up for some much needed overtime with the hopes that she would too busy for anything else. In addition to working extra hours to occupy her time, she had stockpiled her household with enough food and supplies to last through the week. And if she forgot something? Well, grocery stores will deliver to you now, so Kagome didn't have to worry about walking into her nearest shop, only to be surrounded by chocolates and candies and giant stuffed animals that served no purpose other than reminding Kagome of her unwanted solitude. Kagome had planned her last week so meticulously, giving herself little to no free time to think about the fact that she was still single, or to let anyone else remind her of that fact.

  
Kagome had always been a rather stubborn child. Kagome knew what she wanted, and if something didn’t live up to her expectations, then it was kicked to the curb. Unfortunately, this personality trait included all the men she dated. It wasn’t like Kagome had never been on a date, or been with a man _sexually_ , but more often that not she found that no one could keep her interests in more than one area for more than a night.

  
When she was still in high school, Kagome had gone on a couple of dates with Hojo. He had always been quite smitten with her, and it wasn’t as if he wasn’t a nice guy. Hojo was always (and remains to be) one of the few good guys out there, but he was a little too….amicable for Kagome's tastes. His personality almost seemed fake in the sense that he never had any disputes with anyone and could never find anything bad to say about anything. It wasn’t as if Hojo's courteous nature was a bad thing per say, but Kagome always had a wild spirit, and she found it difficult to see herself settling for someone who couldn’t at least _sometimes_ find themselves on her level. On their last date, Kagome had even tried to start a fight with him, just to spawn some other form of emotion from him, but to no avail. In the end, Kagome decided they were better off just being friends. Luckily, Hojo didn’t take the rejection too hard, and in the coming years, he found a cozy companionship with one of her best friends, Ayumi, and in no time at all had proposed to her. They were wedding number one that Kagome was a bridesmaid in.

  
After Hojo, Kagome dated a couple of other guys, but she quickly found faults in every one of them. Koga, an extremely forward wolf demon, was a great lay, but Kagome did not share in his views that she should just settle down to become his _woman_ , which was just code for becoming a housewife who spat kids out faster than you could say ‘I do'. Kagome liked working, and she wasn’t about to just up and quit her job because some guy told her to. Meanwhile, Bankotsu, who worked at her old gym, ended up on the other end of the spectrum opposite Hojo; his whole life seemed to revolve around fighting and conflict, which was a lifestyle Kagome didn’t want to be apart of. Actually, Kagome was pretty sure he was in a gang. She switched gyms after their break up.

  
The last time Kagome had been on a real date was five years ago. Since then, she had seen all the rest of her best friends find their true love and get married. Even her most lecherous friend, Miroku, found a woman willing to put up with him. Kagome's mother tried to set her up on a few dates, mostly with the sons of the ladies she plays bridge with, but after a while Kagome just started to flat our reject them. She hated going on blind dates, no one could live up to her expectations. Because the one thing that no one else had known about was that about three months ago, she had met a guy. And he had completely flipped her world upside down.

  
**~flashback~**

  
It was November 1st. Halloween was officially over with, and Kagome had decided to head down to a local bar to celebrate the fact the she was still standing. Earlier in the year, the diner she worked at had started making seasonal desserts, so Kagome had spent the past week baking ghosts and pumpkins and bats on top of all her other cooking duties. Her days at the diner that week usually started far before dawn and ended far after dusk. To say she was tired would be an understatement, so what better way to treat yourself to a job well done than with a celebratory drink? Kagome found herself seated on the opposite end of the bar from the door, pulling out a thick hardcover book. She had not invited anyone else out with her, having no qualms with drinking alone. In fact, after the week she had, she preferred it. She would have a couple of drinks, read a little bit of the current fantasy novel in her hands, and head back home for a good night’s rest.

  
Kagome was only halfway through her first drink (a standard rum and cola) when a foreign hand suddenly engulfed her page, ripping the book from her hands.

  
“Excuse you!” Kagome exclaimed, a look of indignation washed over her face.

  
“You’re excused,” her book thief shot back, his face showing an indifferent look as he rifled through the books pages.

  
“Do you mind giving me back my book? And don’t lose my spot, either!” Kagome attempted to swipe the book from his hands, but the man merely held it over his head, just out of her reach.

  
“So tell me, who comes to a bar – alone – just to read a book? Can't find yourself a date on this day, after All Hallows Eve?”

  
“That is absolutely none of your business,” she squeaked, her face dusted with a slight blush. For a moment, Kagome was struck silent, unsure of how to respond to this stranger. But, for the first time in the maybe twenty seconds they’ve interacted, she finally took a moment to glance at the stranger who found themselves sitting next to her.

  
_‘My GOD is he gorgeous!'_ were the first thoughts out of Kagome’s head, taking in his tanned skin and perfectly manicured nails. His long silver hair, which only seemed to shine despite the darker environment of the bar, went about halfway down his back and was pulled back in a low ponytail, two strands pulled loose on either side of his head. As her eyes roamed upward, she took in every aspect of his face, from the fangs held behind his smirk to the pair of fuzzy ears that sat on top of his head. ‘ _So he's a hanyou. I wonder how soft those ears are,'_ she thought, stifling her yearning to reach out and touch them. But what really took her breath away was his eyes. Golden in color, they glowed, despite the darkened environment. Amber, mixed with flecks of soft brown swirled together as they gazed down on her. He had to be at least a whole foot taller than her. A pair of black slacks accentuating his long legs, while a simple bright red shirt hugged the muscles of his arms and chest. Kagome had never laid eyes on a man more handsome than the stranger beside her, despite her irritation with him interrupting her date with a good book. ' _Do I really care though?'_ she thought, licking her bottom lip slightly to relieve herself from her all-of-a-sudden chapped lips.

  
“If you must know,” she started, looking slightly down across the bar rather than in his general direction, “I’ve had a hard week and decided to treat myself to a drink and a good book. If that’s okay with you?”

  
“By yourself?” he said incredulously, slightly lowering his arm that held her book. It gave her just the distance to snatch it back before he could defend against her.

  
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

  
“Well, when it comes to celebrations, no one should be alone.” He motioned to the bartender. “The lady and I will have another round, on me,” he spoke the second part of that sentence facing towards her, causing Kagome to blush even more.

  
“Here you are buying me a drink, and I don’t even know you’re name.”

  
“I could say the same thing about you,” he smirked, a lone fang poking out from his lips. It was outlandish, in Kagome’s mind, how that one simple facial expression could make her go utterly speechless. She really wanted to throw out some witty, sarcastic quip just to see what kind of expression she could get out of him, but the only word she could seem to utter was her name.

  
“Well, Ka-go-me,” he said quietly, the bartender handing them two new drinks. The way he enunciated each part of her name sent a small shiver down her spine. “Shall we make a toast then?”

  
“A t-toast? To what?” she spoke in a hushed voice.

  
“Hmmm…” he paused, dramatically taking his chin in his thumb and index finger and sporting a most reflective look which made Kagome giggle. “To the rest of tonight. The name's Inuyasha.” He raised his glass in front of her, his eyes glazing back and forth between their drinks. Kagome wasn’t sure what was happening, the room felt like it was spinning, and she’d barely had anything to drink yet! A part of her was reluctant towards him. She had not planned to talk, let alone meet, someone tonight, but she couldn’t deny she was a little lonely. And he was really hot. ‘ _So fuck it,’_ she thought, and raised her drink up to delicately clink their glasses, a beginning to what would become one of the greatest night’s that Kagome had experienced in a while.

  
Minutes soon turned to hours. One drink together turned into two. They spent hours playing pool, loser buying celebratory whiskey shots, and when their fill of competitive playfulness had been satiated Inuyasha and Kagome found themselves laughing and dancing the rest of the night away next to the jukebox.

  
The atmosphere in the little bar that night was perfect. There were just enough people in the bar to make the place feel welcoming without the claustrophobic ambience that a normal club or more popular bar would have. Kagome couldn’t remember the last time she had as much fun as she did that night. Inuyasha was….perfect. They talked about a variety of subjects throughout the night, mostly about the little things, like what their favourite food was or what reality television show was their most guilty pleasure. Work, of course, was another topic they came upon. Kagome talked about her passion for cooking, how it was stemmed from time spent in the kitchen with her mother after her father passed away, and Inuyasha talked about his job as a mechanic. He was definitely a textbook definition of a “car guy", Kagome was pretty sure he could have talked all night about engines and tires and….torque? Kagome didn’t have a clue what he was talking about most of the time, for the most part nodding her head at the appropriate times, but for some reason she found it endearing when listening to Inuyasha talk and all she could do was smile brightly at him. 

  
Despite their steady drinking, he was a perfect gentleman. There was never any instigation to do anything more than have a fun night out, which Kagome found utterly refreshing. One of the reasons she hated going to the more populated bars and clubs was because most guys wanted (and almost expected) something more from her months bedroom department. And while she did not consider herself to be chaste, she was not a fan of sex on the first date – or meeting for that matter. 

  
**~present~**

  
_‘It was the most perfect night,_ ’ Kagome mused, the music pulling her from her memories as she tried to will her body to become one with her bed.

  
**🎵“Did I fuck my whole life up? Did I miss my one true love? Was he right in front of me at the dive bar? Was that you with the cowboy blues?”🎵**

  
With an aggravated huff, Kagome finally found the nerve to turn the damned music off. She didn’t need any more reminders of her romantic failure. Kagome had thought about that night long and hard. At no point in their celebrating did she feel weird around Inuyasha, and the more time went by, any misgivings she might have had in the beginning about him dwindled to nothing. What could have happened to make everything that was good about their evening go so wrong?

  
_'My drunk, dumb ass is what,'_ Kagome thought, taking both her hands and pulling them through her hair in frustration.

  
Kagome was not a lightweight when it came to alcohol for the most part. She rarely went out in that kind of setting, but when she did the necessary precautions were taken to pace herself and keep hydrated. But between their mixed drinks and shared whiskey shots, Kagome had drank more than she could handle, and about an hour before the bar was to officially close for the night, she proclaimed (louder than she probably would have liked If she was sober) that it was time for her to head home. Any other man she could have been with would have taken this opportunity to “escort her home", with the possibility of a night cap, which would have been easy in her inebriated state. It wasn’t like she hadn’t let her mind wander at all that night, especially sit the way his ass looked in those slacks. But ever the gentleman, Inuyasha simply called her a cab, paid the driver, and sent her off on her way.

  
If Kagome hadn’t been so drunk, she would have asked for his number. Or maybe his social media account. Hell, she would have been content to just get his last name! But at the time, there was no way Kagome could think straight, and with barely a “Goodnight Inuyasha!”, the taxi cab had whisked her away before Inuyasha could even begin to maybe put his own number in her phone.

  
For a week, Kagome tried her hardest to find any sign that Inuyasha existed since that night. She thought it would have been easier with such an unusual name, but without knowing his last name, her internet searches came up blank. There were surprisingly more ‘Inuyasha’s out there than she ever would have thought. He didn’t seem to have a social media account, so that became her first dead end. She tried looking up all the mechanic shops in the area to try and find some sign that Inuyasha worked there, which proved to be a very daunting task. About halfway through her search, Kagome had then come to a startling hypothesis; What if Inuyasha didn’t live in the area? He could have been visiting from out of town, which means searching through local mechanic shops could be a wasted venture. The thought only made Kagome more frazzled in her search. She even attempted to go to the bar, going on the same day of the week the had met, but after about a month and a half of light drinking and fending off the desperate men that tried hitting on her, Kagome had finally given up. Hell, for all she knew, her mind had probably imagined him up. It’s not like perfect men like him exist anyways.

  
Soon enough, Christmas and New Years had flown by, filling Kagome with a sense of emptiness. They had only spent a few hours together, but she felt as if she had known him for years. There was this feeling in Kagome that she couldn’t quite verbalize. She felt such a longing for a man she barely even knew, and it killed her inside to know she may never get to indulge in it again. The end of January had brought about a wistful demeanor in Kagome, which conjured up many questions amongst her friends and family. They may not have known about her night with Inuyasha, but it wasn’t difficult to see that something considerable was weighing on Kagome's shoulders, causing her to fall into a dispirited state.

  
Hence Kagome's need to throw herself into work and not have any contact with anyone she knows until Valentine's Day was over with. Except it didn’t work, and Kagome still ran into Hojo, pulling her back into her own self pity. Why was life so unfair? Did Kagome do something to earn such dreadful luck?

  
“God, I need a drink,” Kagome muttered as she pushed her cheeks up with her hands. She wasn't scheduled to work tomorrow, although Kagome had planned to go in anyways, but running into Hojo at the gas station had unleashed a barrage of emotions in her and for the first time in a week, Kagome realized just how tired she was. Maybe taking tomorrow off wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

  
_‘Well, in that case, I might as well get out of this house to drink my sorrows away,’_ she thought, as she stood from her bed and walked towards her closet. Kagome found herself dressed in a comfortable pair of yoga pants matched in an enormous, bright red hoodie. About two weeks after her night with Inuyasha, Kagome had found the hoodie hanging in a window display at the mall, and without missing a beat she had walked inside and purchased the first one she could get her hands on. She wasn’t an airhead, Kagome knew exactly what pulled her to buy a piece of clothing such as this. She knew it reminded her of him. After religiously wearing the hoodie to bed for months, Kagome had tucked the hoodie away into her closet when February began, knowing that one piece of clothing would never let her forget about him. Thus, she found it fitting now to don the oversized sweater, since there was no use trying to not think about him anymore. 

  
Soon enough, Kagome was out the door, heading down an all too familiar path to the bar. Kagome, in fact, lived practically walking distance to the bar. She could walk from her apartment to the bar in about twenty minutes, and in the car that time was basically nothing. Because she lived so close, Inuyasha could have just as easily helped walk her home that night instead of calling a cab. They could have spent more time together than parting ways at the bar. Maybe he would have had the time to ask for her number. Hell, maybe he would have come inside. Kagome felt a pang of guilt when thinking about just how drunk she got. If she were less intoxicated, she could have had a clearer mind to ask him out again.

  
A chill breeze swept against her face, causing a light shiver to run down her body. Kagome picked up her pace slightly, desperate for the warmth the incandescent lights above the bar would bring. There was no point in dwelling in the what-if's of the whole situation at the moment; there would be plenty of time for that with a spirituous drink in her hand.

  
Before long, Kagome had finally reached her destination, the tinkling of the small bell above the door floating through the air. Absentmindedly, she meandered towards her usual seat on the opposite side of the bar. Luckily, it was a Thursday night, so there wouldn’t be too many people around with a clear view of her imminent sour thoughts.

  
“Kagome! Long time no see!” Looking towards the voice, Kagome spotted the small wildcat demon child, who hopped onto a protruding ledge on the employee side of the bar. Well, ‘child’ was a relative term here. Kagome was sure that despite his small stature, he was probably older than her. Wildcat demons weren't known to get very big.

  
“Hello Bunza!” Kagome said with a light smile on her face. “How are you this evening?”

  
“I'm doing alright I guess. It’s been pretty slow tonight, and Totosai gave me this HUGE list of chores to do before we close,” Bunza sighed with a dejected look on his face. “But don’t worry about me Kagome, did you want your usual?”

  
Kagome giggled slightly at his less-then-enthusiastic attitude towards his duties. He might be older than her, but in the demon world he was still a child, and what child likes to do chores? “Not tonight Bunza, how about making me a Cosmo?”

  
“Coming right up!” Bunza grinned and set off to work as she sat down, hanging her purse on the hook in front of her legs.

  
It had been a shock to Kagome the first time she had seen Bunza working the counter. Sometimes, she had to remind herself that the demon world worked different when it came to certain things, such as a child like Bunza working at a bar. Kagome had learned, from her many visits, that Bunza had worked there for about five years. His parents died in a fire when he was very young, leaving him an orphan. Totosai, the actual owner of the bar, was a family friend and agreed to take Bunza under his wing. Of course, this meant he would spend many a night at the bar, working his way up from just sweeping and keeping the bar relatively clean to actually making drinks for patrons. Totosai had actually installed a ledge along the bar for Bunza when he started learning how to make drinks so that it would be easier for him to interact with the customers sitting on the other side of the bar. Many people who came in would comment on his age, about how he was too young to be put to work, but Bunza would just brush them off. It was plain for anyone to see, if they truly tried, that despite the work Bunza was happy to just not be by himself after his parents death. Totosai made sure he had a roof over his head and warm food in his belly, which was more than he could have asked for.

  
A few minutes later, Bunza set down the finished Cosmo in front of her. “Let me know if you need anything else Kagome!” he said, hopping down from the ledge to pick up where he had left off with his chores. Kagome had always enjoyed talking with Bunza, but her heart just wasn’t in it today. Sighing heavily, she slumped her shoulders, trying to release all her tension from the week. With a few turns of the neck, Kagome grabbed her drink and took a sizeable sip.

  
“You better be careful, take any more drinks like that and I’ll have to call you another cab.”

  
Kagome almost choked on her drink at the unexpected voice behind her. Coughing as she tried to take in huge gulps of air, she felt a hand brace her back, patting it gently, the other hand gripping the bar. The motions of the man brought him into her sight, although Kagome didn’t actually need to see him to know who was behind her. If the past week had taught her anything, it was that there was no force on this planet that could possibly make Kagome forget anything about Inuyasha. The deep baritone of his voice. The way his eyes bore into her own, as if he was trying to memorize every bit of her own visage. The velvety texture of his snow-white hair that would tickle her cheeks if he bent his head near hers. The way he always seemed to smell like fresh pine and sandalwood. No, there was no possible way for Kagome to forget him, not that she'd want to anyways.

“I-Inuyasha…” she stuttered, her face starting to burn from the embarrassment of it all. He wasn’t suppose to be here! She hadn’t taken the time to get herself dolled up on the off chance she would see him again. Not that Kagome wasn’t happy to see him, she just wished she was more prepared. She currently held the appearance of a troll rather than a lady. She thought so anyways.

  
“Well damn, Ka-go-me, didn’t know you were that drunk already,” the way he enunciated her name, yet again brought shivers down her spine. His deliciously plump lips twerked upwards in an all too knowing smirk. She knew he was teasing her, and under normal circumstances she would have huffed in indignation at his ever apparent satisfaction of picking on her, but Kagome had waited months for this moment. There would be plenty of time for pointless bickering later, and by God she would make sure there was a later. The smirk on his face transformed into a wide smile, and Kagome couldn’t help but tilt her lips up to try and imitate his own. She was about to change her own fate.

  
“Do you want to get out of here?” Kagome said all in one breath. Inuyasha squinted his eyes at her slightly, his smile remained wholeheartedly. 

  
“What’s the rush?”

  
“I didn’t get a chance to eat dinner yet. It’s been a long week"

  
Inuyasha snickered. “You’re just always having a bad week, aren’t you wench?”

  
“Only preceding when I see you, apparently. Maybe it’s a sign?”

  
“A sign of what?”

  
“That I should see you more,” Kagome muttered, breaking her eye contact for just a moment before gazing at him with hopeful eyes. His face held an emotion that Kagome couldn’t quite place. Relief? Awe? Contentment? She continued on, afraid any pause in her plan would spell disaster.

  
“There’s a really great ramen shop not too far from here. If you don’t mind walking.”

  
His eyes lit up at the word ‘ramen. “You just said the magic word,” Inuyasha said, backing up somewhat to give her enough room to stand. Kagome could not contain the smile on her face as she dug into her purse. Kagome had let Inuyasha get away once, and she wasn’t about to make the same mistake twice. Once she found her wallet, she placed some bills on the table and turned to walk out the door with Inuyasha. The night had turned even colder with the sun having been fully set, but Kagome and Inuyasha hardly noticed. Every look that they would pass back and forth would keep them plenty warm.

  
It was too bad the sun had already gone down though. Kagome had always envisioned she'd find him one day and they'd ride off into the sunset together.

  
_'Oh well, another day.'_


	2. Chapter 2

It had been a long day for Inuyasha. He barely registered where his feet were taking him, letting his displeasure from the day dictate his path. Inuyasha always hated working the day after a holiday. The guys who worked under him at his mechanic shop were good workers, but they never failed to get utterly _smashed_ \- no matter the holiday - and would always show up to the work the next day extremely hungover. Which of course caused their inventory of cars to fix to pile up, and it usually took them a week or so to get the shop back to normal.

  
Usually if a holiday lined up on a Friday or Monday, Inuyasha would just declare the shop closed for a three day weekend to avoid this exact problem, but there were plenty of times over the years where luck was just not on his side. This year, Halloween was no exception to their holiday partying tradition, and Inuyasha had found himself working double time today as an onslaught of customers had flocked to the garage in anticipation for the weekend. While the weather had already started to get a little chillier, it didn’t seem to steer people from wanting to go out for the weekend, and who could do that with car troubles?

  
And yet, after such an exhausting day, Inuyasha still felt restless. He had arrived home long enough to shower before heading back out to…God only knows where. All he knew was that there was no way he would just sit around at home alone. Again.

  
Despite escaping the aching loneliness of his apartment, he didn’t want to think about being around anyone at the moment. His only friend, Sango, had begged him all week to accompany her on Halloween, and Inuyasha had thrown her every excuse in the book as to why he couldn’t come. She decided to throw a huge costume party with her new husband, Miroku, and as per usual signed herself up for more than she could handle. But Inuyasha wasn’t an idiot. This was a classic Sango tactic to set him up on some God awful blind date. She would plan some huge event, get herself all worked up over the whole thing, _beg_ Inuyasha to help her, and as soon as she had him in her grasp, shove him off onto some unsuspecting female. Well, the women in the beginning weren't innocent in Sango's plans, but she eventually became desperate enough for the hanyou to devote any amount of attention to someone of the opposite sex, with no remorse for the women who had no idea what they were getting themselves put into.

  
No, Inuyasha didn’t want anything to do with a costume party where Sango would try and shove him towards the first slutty cat she could find. He knew that she meant well. It was clear to Sango that his separation from Kikyo was hard on him, but the last thing he wanted to do was just dive into some meaningless relationship.

  
Inuyasha was trying to forget about her. It had been two years since she left. Two years since he felt the warmth of her body next to his. Two years since he last felt alive. Everything had all happened so fast. One minute, they were engaged and looking at houses in the area, the next she was packing her bags. She admitted she felt stagnant, tied down. Whether she felt that towards him or just her life in general, Inuyasha feared he would probably never find out. Kikyo didn’t seem to know the answer to that either. All she knew, or would tell him, was that she needed to leave, to clear her head.

  
Inuyasha had hoped that maybe after a little time, she would return. He wouldn’t have faulted her too much for going away, he would always forgive her. She was the first person to ever see past the fact he was just a hanyou. She was the first person to love him like that. His kind were treated a lot better nowadays than in the past, but that didn’t mean that people – humans or demons alike – wanted anything to be with him. Not like that anyways.

  
The first year apart was the hardest. He spent so many months trying to figure out what went wrong. Was he too clingy? Could she not look past his usually brash personality? Did she fall in love with someone else? Inuyasha couldn’t scent any deception on her when she left him, but Kikyo was so cryptic in her explanations who could say where her true reasoning lied. Kikyo had always been a woman of few words, and despite being together for three years, Inuyasha rarely knew what was going through her mind. He tried to erase her scent from his loft, but he was constantly finding little things of hers that she had left behind. In an attempt to not go crazy with despair and longing, he moved to a different apartment, and purged himself of anything materialistic that reminded him of her. The past year found him working far more than he needed to, and avoiding anywhere that Kikyo and him might have frequented.

  
A quick blast of cool air brought Inuyasha back to the present. He didn’t know how far he had walked. Many of his and Kikyo's old haunts were fairly close to the area he resided, even though he had moved, so he continued his inattentive roaming, in search of an establishment that would serve him something that would take his mind away from it all. Before long, he found himself standing in front of an unfamiliar bar. Inuyasha could tell it was a more local joint, not quite a hole in the wall bar, but also not one of the more popular places for folks to hang around.

  
‘ _Well, this seems as good a place as ever,’_ he thought, pulling the door open. It was a decently sized little taproom, consisting of one main room, with a hallway in the back that lead to what Inuyasha suspected were bathrooms or employee only areas. Sweeping his eyes across the room, Inuyasha spied two pool tables lining the far left wall. A couple of booths were situated immediately to the left of the door along the wall, while a few high rise tables with bar stools were set around the room, and on the far wall opposite the door was an old jukebox. On the right hand side of the room was the bar, where an older looking gentleman happened to be taking drink orders. There were a few groups scattered throughout the room, but not enough for Inuyasha to feel overloaded. The place had an overall comfortable feel to it. Being a hanyou, Inuyasha had a better sense of smell and hearing than humans, so the atmosphere of most bars would irk him, the smell of cigarettes and the heavy beating of music aggravating his most important senses, giving him a substantial headache.

  
Inuyasha walked up and sat at the closest seat at the bar, giving the few people seated there a sparing glance before he set his eyes on a most enticing sight. Sitting at the other end of the bar was presumably the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Due to the way the bar was curved, Inuyasha was facing her side view, but that did nothing to damper her exquisite features. Her dark hair fell half way down her back, the light from the bulbs above the bar giving it an almost ethereal blue hue. Her eyes held a look of pure dedication to the book she held in her hands, her plump lips a delicious red from the cold drink she sipped on. With only a quick glance of the girl, and one might say that she was Kikyo's twin, but even without going by scent, Inuyasha could spot all the differences. Kikyo was a very private person, someone who always kept her emotions tame, no matter the situation. This girl wouldn’t know how to hide her feelings if her life depended on it. Inuyasha watched as her expression changed rapidly from happy to shocked, her book keeping her on the edge of her seat. 

  
If Inuyasha had a mirror, he would be able to see the very predatory look he had on his face.

  
“What's your poison tonight son?” the bartender asked, rousing Inuyasha from his thoughts. He had to physically shake his head to take his gaze off the goddess in his midst. 

  
“Just a shot of whiskey,” he muttered, barely feeling his movements as he pulled his debit card out to start a tab. The bartender placed a small glass in front of him and filled it a quarter of the way full with whiskey. Nodding in thanks, Inuyasha downed the glass in one gulp. His mind was clouded with thoughts of this mystery woman. Against his earlier desire to not get involved with anyone, the couldn’t help but wonder what her voice sounded like. He wanted to hear her laugh at one if his stupid jokes, the touch of her hand over his, her body squirming under his as he –

  
_‘Get it together Inuyasha!’_ he growled to himself. What was going on with himself? Not even ten minutes ago he couldn’t imagine even talking with another woman, but now he was envisioning himself with this complete stranger? Inuyasha closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It had been two years since Kikyo left. Most people would have at least tried to dip their feet back into the dating pool by now, so just what was holding him back? Did he think he’d be betraying her if he started seeing someone else? Did he truly believe she would just walk back through his door, like nothing had happened? Was he afraid no one could love him like she did?

  
God, he needed another drink.

  
Inuyasha opened his eyes to gaze at her again. The corners of her mouth turned upward, a content expression set across her face, and suddenly the only thing Inuyasha wanted to do was find out what was so interesting about that book.

  
He stood up from his chair and made his way down the bar. He kept his footsteps light, not wanting his presence to become known to her yet. Time seemed to slow down with every step. She continued reading her book and savoring her drink, completely unaware of the hanyou prowling towards her. With only a few chairs between them, Inuyasha finally caught a whiff of her scent; sweet honey and floral jasmine. Inuyasha's eyes almost rolled toward the back of his head, nothing could have smelled better.

  
Inuyasha found himself getting nervous as he came to stand behind her. He was still trying to grapple his emotions and fears about Kikyo when his legs started leading him towards her. He had no idea how to start a conversation with this woman! Should he make up a fake reason as to why he came over to her? Should he try and flirt with her? Did he even know _how_ to flirt anymore? Inuyasha felt his chest tighten and his throat dry up. If he was honest with himself, he hadn’t tried flirting with someone in over five years. What if he tripped over his words, making her think he was some kind of fool.

  
Inuyasha held his head high, preparing himself to somehow say something to her when he noticed that the wall he faced - which was adorned with all the different alcohols they served – was a decorated with mirrors. If the woman in front of him only looked up, she would see him standing behind her. It was a little frightening, knowing in any second she could notice him, before he could effectively make up an excuse to want to talk to her. But she didn’t glance up. Hell, she didn’t even raise her head to look at her drink. This book was so completely catching her attention that she couldn’t even concentrate on her surroundings. Which irritated the hanyou; What is so interesting about this book? Why was it more interesting than him?

  
Inuyasha growled almost soundlessly as he yanked the book from her hands. He was going to find out why she was so interested in this damn book. She stammered at him, her eyes growing wide in confusion and…anger?

  
“Excuse you!”

  
“You’re excused,” he muttered, scanning each page for anything that would pop out at him. He affirmed she was reading one of those sappy, romantic fantasy novels, where some beautiful outcast falls in love with a dragon, or some shit like that. Inuyasha almost couldn’t believe she was the kind of girl who would read books like this. He wondered if she actually liked the story or if reading it was a guilty pleasure for her. He glanced down to inspect her face. At the same time she shot up from her seat, arm extending upwards towards the book. He held the book up just out of her reach, reveling in the split-second feel of her body against his as she tried swiping it.

  
Inuyasha hadn’t even processed that she had said anything to him when he decided to take the plunge talk to her. “So tell me, who comes to a bar – alone – just to read a book? Can’t find yourself a date on this day, after All Hallows Eve?”

  
_‘Good job baka. Nothing tells a girl you’re interested in her than insulting her!’_ Inuyasha cursed to himself as she slightly looked away timidly. He softened the features in his face in an attempt to soothe the harsh words that came out of his mouth. When she looked back up at him, a light blush covered her cheeks, and Inuyasha couldn't help but smirk at her. She was _adorable_. Her eyes sought out refuge from his own, the scent of her embarrassment wafting towards him. 

  
“If you must know, I’ve had a hard week and decided to treat myself to a drink and a good book. If that’s okay with you?”

  
“By yourself?” Inuyasha let his body slouch so she could be in reach of her book. She was obviously embarrassed to be called out on being alone, but her eyes shone with intensity, as if to challenge him to insult her.

  
_‘She's a little spitfire,’_ he mused, thinking her more beautiful by the minute.

  
“You say that like it’s bad thing.”

  
“Well when it comes to celebrations, no one should be alone.” Inuyasha motioned to the bartender. Step one in serenading: buy her a drink. Right? The wary look on her face didn’t budge, but Inuyasha could see the way her shoulders dropped just slightly, her body relaxing in his presence.

  
“Here you are buying me a drink, and I don’t even know you’re name.”

  
Inuyasha grinned at her. _‘So she wants my name, huh?’_ he thought, giving her body a once over. She shifted in her seat, her eyes just as focused on him as he was on her.

  
Inuyasha couldn’t believe it. Was this flirting? Was this _successful_ flirting? It was if her scent told him anything, despite the fire in her eyes. But if he was honest, it was that exact fire that called her to him. Is this how women acted when they played hard to get?

  
“I could say the same thing about you,” he pointed out to her. As if he was going to make it easy on her, especially if this was a real ‘playing hard to get’ situation. He wanted to watch her squirm under his ever watching eyes, to know that he was the one making her face flush. She sat there, opening and closing her mouth like a fish out of water, as if she was trying to come up with the perfect comeback. Her soft, brown orbs caught his, and he almost gave in to her silent request. He would have told her anything to keep her beautiful eyes on him, but right as he was about to let go, she beat him to the punch. She spoke so softly, if it wasn’t for his hanyou hearing, he might have missed it. And thank God he didn’t miss it, because the name she uttered shook him to his core.

  
_Kagome_. 

  
Was Inuyasha always this sappy, or was it because of her? He didn’t think he’d ever heard a more beautiful name, befitting of the woman sitting beside him. In that moment, he knew how _fucked_ he was. She barely said more than a few sentences to him, and she had him wrapped around her little fingers. He wanted to know everything there was to know about her. He wanted to hear her laugh, to forever breath in the sweet scent that was _Kagome_. 

  
He wanted to feel how each syllable in her name rolled off his tongue. _Ka-go-me_. He didn’t fail to notice how she shivered when he said it. Perhaps he had her wrapped around his finger just as much as she did with him. He hoped so anyways. It was becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with his surroundings. Everything around them was suddenly blurred, leaving only Kagome in crystal clear focus. He barely noticed their drinks bring sat in front of them, the clinking of their glasses muffled by the sound of his heartbeat.

  
The night was perfect. Inuyasha had never found someone he could actually stand to talk to. Sango was usually the one exception to his ‘I-don’t-like-talking-to-people’ rule, and even then, they’re conversations were rarely two sided. Sango would talk, while Inuyasha responded with an occasional ‘Keh!’. He didn’t even talk much with Kikyo, which was probably a reason he liked being around her; he didn’t have to make unnecessary conversation with her. But with Kagome…talking came easy. She was the type of person who could talk about anything and everything, but she knew just how to keep him a part of the conversation, no matter the subject.

  
Hell, she even got him to go on and on about his mechanic shop, an accomplishment Inuyasha was extremely proud of. It took a lot of time, energy, and money to get to where he was, and he so rarely raved about himself. He blushed when he realized he had taken over their conversation, but none of that mattered when she gave him the brightest smile he had ever seen.

  
It was like she was breaking down all the walls he had built around himself over the years. It had been so long since Inuyasha had felt comfortable around someone. It made all the feelings he had about Kikyo feel superficial at best. Was this what it was like to really be in sync with someone? Every word she spoke sent a tingle of warmth to his chest. Every time she cheered as she scored a shot in pool, he couldn’t help but share in her pride. And when they were dancing? _Fuck_ , it was like he was walking on air. Inuyasha couldn’t give a damn if anyone was watching either. Nothing was going to spoil this night.

  
Except for himself, of course.

  
Not like he did anything _wrong_ per say, he was the perfect gentleman. Kagome was, for lack of a better word, shit-faced. She _claimed_ that she wasn’t a lightweight when it came to alcohol, but three whiskey shots and several rum and cola’s later and even Inuyasha was starting to feel a slight buzz, let alone a small human girl like her. Not that he was even remotely drunk, as a hanyou he’d have to drink twice as much as he did if he wanted to really feel anything.

  
Inuyasha's plan was foolproof. He’d call her a cab, pay for the trip home, put his number in her phone, and kiss her goodnight. Inuyasha had no idea if she had driven here or how far away she lived. He figured if she needed her car, he'd help her get it tomorrow. Which would give himself another reason to see her again. And God did he want to see her again.

  
Inuyasha wondered what had went wrong. Was he too confident in his plan? Should he have rearranged some of the steps? Did fate just want to kick him while he’s down? Everything had happened so fast. As soon as the cab driver had his card info and Kagome in the back, he sped off, leaving a stunned hanyou standing alone on the sidewalk. No goodnight. No number. And no kiss.

**《~~~~~~~~~~~》**

The next several months for Inuyasha were painful. Time for the hanyou had never gone by so fucking slowly for him. The following day after that wondrous night, Inuyasha had gone back to the bar in hopes that she would have to return for her car, or maybe she would be there in hopes to find him as well. There was no such luck to be had for him though. Inuyasha had stayed in the area for a better part of the day, but every car in the area was eventually claimed, with no sign of Kagome coming back. Either she had come back before he arrived, or she hadn’t drove to the bar.

  
The first month consisted of Inuyasha berating himself. Why didn’t he get her last name? Why didn’t he push to know the name of that diner she worked at? Why couldn’t he have put his number in her phone before she got into that fucking cab? The more he thought about it all, the angrier it made him. How could he let his feelings cloud his judgement? Was he so desperate for the here and now that he couldn’t step back to secure the future? To make sure that night would be a first, not an only?

  
_‘Keh, of course not. All I could see was her,’_ he conceded, combing his hand through his bangs. Inuyasha was currently sitting at this desk staring at his computer screen with a lifeless gaze. It was a fairly lackluster day at the shop – there was only a few cars booked with no walk ins – and seeing as his help wasn’t needed on the floor, Inuyasha finally took it upon himself to tend to the mountain of paperwork he had let pile up for the past couple of weeks.

  
Inuyasha didn’t know what else he could do to try and find her. He had gone and eaten at a variety of different diners over the past couple of months in an attempt to find the one she worked at, a feat that turned out to be much more difficult than he initially realized. Kagome talked a lot about her accomplishments in cooking, from being accepted into and graduating culinary school to all the work she did at the diner, but she never specified exactly where she worked. Inuyasha thought there had to hundreds of diners out there, from little mom and pop dives to more commercial franchises. He didn’t know how much more diner chow he could swallow – literally. No one at any of the places he checked had heard of her, and some places were less than enthused about some strange man asking about their employees. 

  
After giving up on the ‘I'll-find-her-at-the-diner’ idea, he also tried going back to the bar fairly regularly. He hoped that the bar was actually a regular haunt of hers. He fantasized about walking in, the faint chiming of the bell above the door becoming the perfect soundtrack to the light that would sparkle in her eyes as she caught his own, giving him that smile that made his knees week.

  
She was never there though. His daily visits turned into once a week visits, until he couldn’t stomach the emptiness he felt as he left every night. He decided around the New Year to stop looking for her. If he was meant to find her, it would have happened by now. Life was just a cruel bitch that way.

  
So now he was cooping himself up at work. For the hundredth time today, Inuyasha's phone flashed. Sango had been texting him nonstop all week, and he had been avoiding her. Tomorrow was his most dreaded day of the year - Valentine's Day - and Sango was doing her best to ‘hook him up'. Inuyasha couldn’t remember if he could ever tolerate this unnecessary holiday. It was exhausting when he was with Kikyo because it always felt like he had to buy her love, whether it was jewelry or going out to eat. Not that she was a materialistic person, but Inuyasha thought that she had a certain idea about what Valentine's Day meant, and when she thought she was right there was no diminishing her resolve. Then, after Kikyo left, Sango decided to get involved with his love life starting with Valentine's Day. She might be able to ensnare him in her grasp on any other holiday, but he kept as far a distance as he could when it came to her.

  
He hadn’t bothered to tell Sango about Kagome. He waited in the beginning because he was so determined that he would find a sign that Kagome was real and not some illusion, but recently the thought of telling Sango anything was humiliating. Here was a beautiful young woman who was so kindly thrust into his life, only for him to lose her, _like an idiot._

  
_‘Keh, Sango'd kill me if she ever found that out_ ,’ he sighed despondently, throwing his phone in his top desk drawer as his phone buzzed with yet another text. With one final exhalation, Inuyasha grabbed a small stack of papers and set about getting his office back in order. What better way to avoid Sango than to hole yourself up all evening with work?

  
“Damn, I need a drink…”

**《~~~~~~~~~~~》**

_‘Since when was filing paperwork so damn tiring?’_

  
Inuyasha was exhausted. He hadn’t realized how much work he had put off over the last couple of weeks, so it took him the rest of his work day - plus an extra hour – to get himself caught up.

  
_‘Ain’t making that mistake again, I don’t care how many clients we got,’_ he grumbled, crashing onto his couch. Today was looking like it was to be the roughest day in all of Inuyasha's life. He had a splitting headache from staring at a computer screen all day, and despite working an extra hour today, Sango had been relentless in attempting to convince him to double date with her and Miroku. About halfway home, Inuyasha had turned his phone off to stop the endless rampage of texts and calls. It was a better alternative to what he really wanted to do, which was block her number altogether.

  
After getting home to shower and change into a comfortable pair of sweats, his plan was to make a couple of cups of instant ramen and park his ass in front of the t.v. for the remainder of the night. Only for him to realize, as he stared into his empty cupboard, that on top of forgetting about paperwork, he also forgot to go food shopping. Which meant there was no ramen in his house.

  
It was like the universe had only one soul purpose, and that was to fuck with Inuyasha's life. Today really was shaping up to be the worst. Headache, an empty stomach, and an even emptier apartment. And so Inuyasha sat there on his couch, not really feeling takeout tonight but not wanting to leave the house either.

  
Inuyasha felt pretty pathetic, to be honest. He would be lying if he hadn't fantasized about spending Valentine's Day with Kagome. Even in the last month, when he had give up looking for her, he could still envision what she'd be wearing or where they'd go to eat. He hadn’t felt this lonely since Kikyo first left him. All for a girl he only spoke to for three hours at best?

  
Valentine's Day sure had a knack for kicking a man while he’s down.

  
Despite his unwillingness to leave his home, Inuyasha decided that he was better off going out somewhere. There was that little ramen shop in the downtown area. He had seen an advertisement for the shop last week that caught his eye; they were apparently known for being open extremely late. So, he made his decision; he would go and grab something to eat at the ramen shop and stop to grab some groceries on his way home. He did need something to eat in the morning anyways. He changed into a pair of jeans, pulled on a light jacket, and strode out into the brisk night.

  
The cold hardly bothered him much. Perks of being a hanyou and all that. The crisp breeze brushed against his still damp hair, making him feel like he had just jumped into a ice cold bath, but it was almost soothing. His headache still remained, but the pounding had started to dull. He took deep breaths, in and out, trying to clear his mind. Inuyasha was convinced he thought too much. Nothing good ever came from thinking anyways.

  
He rounded the next corner, taking on another gust of wind. Only two more streets and he would finally have some warm food in his belly. The thought of his all-time favourite food was beginning to lighten his darkened mood – as ramen always did – when he suddenly stopped. All of a sudden, his mind was running at incomprehensible speeds. In his starving induced state, he had failed to remember that in order to get to the ramen shop, he would have to walk right by the bar. Had he taken a moment to think instead of letting his legs push him onwards, he could have taken a much longer route to avoid the bar.

  
Inuyasha took back what he thought earlier. He hadn’t been thinking too much, in fact he hadn’t been thinking at all.

  
There wasn’t any time to spare thinking about his hunger, or how he led himself right to the bar before Valentine’s Day. His eyes never wavered from the sidewalk in front of him. One ear kept an eye out for anything strange around him outside, while his other ear twitched towards the door to the bar. There were too many noises to pick up anything specific, the occasional car driving by, the sounds of people walking in and out of the businesses that surrounded him. But Inuyasha wasn’t paying attention to any of the information those senses brought him. The only one that mattered was smell.

  
Honey. And Jasmine. Inuyasha closed his eyes as he took in a deep breath. All of a sudden, his headache dwindled down to only a faint buzz. Even his hunger subsided, as if breathing in that scent could satiate him. He was frozen to the ground. Part of him wanted to turn so badly, to look inside that door and find her sitting on that damn stool. Another part of him didn’t know if he could take it, to look over and not see her there. He had stopped looking for her because of this very reason. But as he inhaled more of that sweet scent, he threw reason out the window. He violated the very essence of his logical brain that told him to run, to keep moving towards the ramen shop. Because that scent, it was still strong. Which means whatever – or whoever – it came from had just passed by. He turned his head to look through the door, and in that moment it seemed like the whole world just stopped. Everything but her anyways.

  
_Kagome_.

  
She was chatting with someone out of his sight, most likely the bartender. Her cheeks were tinged with color, little wisps of hair that weren’t held up in her bun looking wind swept. She must have just sat down, not even a drink in front of her yet.

  
Inuyasha couldn’t believe it. Months of searching for her, pining for her, and there she sat. In the same spot as he first found her. There were so many thoughts rushing through his head, it was like he couldn’t find that happy medium between not thinking at all and thinking too much. She was just as beautiful now as she was that day. Kagome didn’t need makeup to highlight any feature on her face, she was naturally alluring in her own right. And seeing her wearing red – his color – was extremely arousing. It didn’t matter that she was wearing an oversized sweater. Hell, she could wear a trash bag and he'd still think her the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen.

  
It didn’t take long for him to imagine that she was wearing one of his sweaters. Didn’t he have one just like that at home? A darker thought clouded his mind – what if she was wearing someone else’s sweater? He growled at his minds insinuation that she was with someone already. He had waited MONTHS for her to come back into his life, and he wasn’t about to let some other male take her from him. He'd just have to make her see that, too.

  
The soft chiming of the door announced his presence. Looking over at the bar, Inuyasha vaguely noticed the demon cub was on duty tonight, probably making Kagome's drink.

  
“Let me know if you need anything else Kagome!”

  
_‘Is Kagome on a first name basis with the runt?’_ he pondered, slowly making his way towards her. She didn’t reply to the cub, only giving him a weak smile before focusing on her drink. To Inuyasha, she smelled stressed, and he could hear the soft sigh she let out as her body attempted to relax somewhat. It hurt him to see how exhausted she looked and all he could think of doing was pulling her close to him.

They   
She finally picked up her drink, nearly inhaling half of it in one gulp. And that’s when he pounced.

  
“You better be careful, take any more drinks like that and I’ll have to call you another cab,” he snickered, enjoying the idea of teasing her just so he could see that fire in her eyes again. His plan backfired as she choked on her drink, being completely unaware that anyone was behind her.

  
“Kagome!” he gasped, as he brought his hand to her back, bracing himself on the counter.

  
_‘Feh, good job baka! First thing you do when you find her is almost kill her!’_ he snarled at himself. He rubbed his hand on her back in soothing circles as she gained control of her breathing.

  
“I-Inuyasha…” she stuttered. Her face flushed almost as red as the sweater she wore, and Inuyasha could smell the tangy scent of embarrassment wafting off her. Given her attire and embarrassment of being caught at the bar, Inuyasha speculated that she didn’t expect to run into anyone tonight. He was glad to see that she wasn’t too angry with him for making her choke on her drink, and decided he was still in good standing to continue with his teasing.

  
“Well damn, Ka-go-me, didn’t know you were that drunk already,” he made sure to enunciate her name like before, his prize the shiver that he could see running down her body from it. Her eyes held so many emotions, it was hard for Inuyasha to keep track. He was waiting for the bold fury to erupt from them, to feel the stubbornness she exuded. He wasn’t quite prepared for her actual response.

  
“Do you want to get out of here?”

  
_‘Like you wouldn’t believe wench,’_ he thought amusedly. “What’s the rush? You just got here?”

  
“I didn’t get a chance to eat dinner yet. It's been a long week,” she confessed. Inuyasha almost wanted to pinch himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming. He loved the rapt attention she was giving him, but he still longed to see her bite out at him.

  
“You’re just always having a bad week, aren’t ya wench?”

  
“Only preceding when I see you apparently.” And there was the bite. “Maybe it’s a sign?”

  
“A sign of what?” he questioned, squinting his eyes at her slightly as he tried to predict what she was about to say.

  
“That I should see you more,” she practically whispered. He only managed to hear her because of his enhanced hearing. Perhaps he wouldn’t get any of her true snarky-ness tonight, at the moment he couldn’t quite care. She had glanced away from him for a second before gazing back up at him. Her eyes conveyed every emotion she felt to him. Longing, hope, excitement, a dash of embarrassment. He could only hope his eyes would carry out his own emotions to her. The yearning he felt for her these past few months, his desire too be in her presence, how just looking at her seemed to cure whatever ailed him.

  
“There’s a really great ramen shop not too far from here. If you don’t mind walking.”

  
Inuyasha could not believe his luck. How much of a coincidence would it be if she was referring to the very shop he was on his way to? The last few months had been hell for Inuyasha, but it was all worth it for this moment. He couldn’t contain the smile on his face.

  
“You just said the magic word,”

  
Inuyasha was sure he was going to have teach himself how to breath again. She had no idea what those tender looks did to him. He pulled back, ready to pay for her drink and whisk her away. She beat him to the punch, throwing down enough bills for a decent tip before they walked out into the cold night air. He was okay with that though. He had the rest of the night to mend all the mistakes he made the first time they met.

  
She laced her right arm with his left, leading him in the same direction he was originally walking towards before his brief stop. His other hand came up to grasp her hand, and as they walked, there was only one thought running through Inuyasha's mind.

  
_‘There is no way I’m letting her get away again.’_


	3. Chapter 3

_“Good morning Tokyo! I hope everyone is getting ready for the weekend! Today, it looks like our high is 26° C, the perfect temperature to ge-"_

  
A loud smash echoes throughout the room. For a brief moment, there is a seemingly comfortable silence between the two people laying on the bed. A few more minutes pass them by as they take in their morning surroundings. The light chirps of birds as they fly through the trees outside the window, the whirring of the overhead fan, the small thumps of Buyo's paws as he waddled around somewhere else in the house – likely the kitchen. Inuyasha always enjoyed how peaceful the house was just moments after waking up. Next to him, Kagome let out a dejected sigh.

  
“Is it really necessary to break the alarm clock? That the third one this month!” she muttered. 

  
“Wench, I’ve told you we don’t need an alarm clock. I would have woke us up in time,” he chimed back at her.

  
“Mmm…yeah, okay. Says the man who was late to work five times last month because he claimed he didn’t need an alarm clock,” she teased. Inuyasha merely huffed at her as he threw the blankets off him to stand up from the bed. Without saying a word, he stalked over to the connecting bathroom and shut the door. Inuyasha wasn't much of an early riser, and until he showered, had a cup of coffee, and ate breakfast, he was likely to remain in a less than amicable mood.

  
Kagome merely chuckled as she pulled on her robe, setting herself up to start breakfast. If there was any day she needed Inuyasha in his best of moods, it was today.

  
Today was the day they would embark on their three-day vacation. The winter season had been particularly cold and uninviting, effectively keeping them locked up inside their home whenever they weren’t at work. Inuyasha had come home one night after a particular bad day at the shop, spouting on about how he needed a vacation, which gave Kagome the opening she needed to immediately start planning one. They had been dating for a little over a year now, and Kagome was excited for them to go on their first ever vacation as a couple, even if it was only for a weekend.

  
Kagome quietly hummed to herself as she turned on the coffee maker and took out the ingredients she’d need for their eggs. Breakfast wouldn’t be too big of an affair this morning. They had a six hour drive ahead of them, and her plan was to leave as soon as she was done with her shower. But, as always, Kagome was prepared for a busy morning. She had put together a few bento boxes and hand held snacks for them the previous night. It would provide them with enough sustenance to satiate any rumbling stomachs until they arrived at the villa. Well, hopefully enough anyways. Kagome was almost certain Inuyasha's stomach was actually a deep pit, that of which could only be filled by ingesting copious amounts of ramen.

  
Kagome had never been happier. To this day, she couldn’t believe her luck the night Inuyasha found her at the bar. They had spent the rest of that night at the ramen shop eating and talking. Kagome had learned several things that night. One, was that Inuyasha was not kidding when he had originally told her ramen was his favourite food. Not only did he eat five bowls on his own, but he ended up finishing the other half of her second bowl, which her eyes ordered against the wishes of her stomach. Kagome knew that demons had a very different appetite than humans; they could go days without eating and many demon delicacies were not human friendly, although she was unaware that a half demon could eat so much. Usually in the presence of others, demons maintained a visually normal appetite, but Inuyasha didn’t seem to care who watched him as he shoveled down a weeks worth of ramen in one sitting.

  
The second thing she learned, was that they either had some of the best luck in the world or some of the worst, depending on how you looked at it. Kagome honestly couldn’t tell anymore. They had both caught each other up on what they had been doing since their first encounter, and the lengths they both went to try and find each other. While Kagome had spent every night at the bar for the first month or so, Inuyasha did not try and find her there until after she had given up on meeting him there again. Had Kagome not drank as much as she did, she might have gone down to the bar that next day, but between being extremely hungover and busy with work, they had missed each other.

  
Kagome found out she had successfully looked up his mechanic shop, and had she actually called to see if he was there she would have found him months ago. A blunder on her part. Similarly, Inuyasha had actually dined at a place just down the street from her job, and if he had kept on with his search, he would have found her. And had neither of them decided to go out that night, they probably could have went about the rest of their lives just barely missing each other.

  
Kagome's phone vibrated as she poured the eggs into the pan. A text from Sango, letting Kagome know what time she should be finished with her final client for the day. Sango had agreed to help take care of Buyo and water their plants while they went on their vacation. Her and Miroku had decided they would just stay at their apartment for the weekend. That way, Buyo wouldn’t have to be left alone all day, and he'd have a friend over in the form of Sango’s little demon cat, Kirara.

  
A warm smile spread across her face as she texted Sango back. Sometimes, Kagome still couldn’t believe that Inuyasha's best friend was Miroku’s wife. It was probably, by far, one of the weirdest turn of events in their relationship. Kagome remembered when Inuyasha first told her they would be joining his best friend and her husband on a double date at some local burger joint. Kagome’s nerves had her nauseous and dizzy. Inuyasha hadn’t said much about her. Only that they had been friends since high school and she was closer to him than his own family was; they were practically siblings. He told her these things in such a nonchalant manner, but Kagome could see the veiled respect hidden in his eyes, and she knew what that meant for her. Impressing this woman had the same weight as if she was meeting his mother, and her opinion of Kagome could easily make or break their relationship.

  
Several outfit changes and one mild panic attack later, in which Inuyasha had to assure her that there was absolutely nothing for her fear, they had finally arrived. Kagome was relieved to know that they were only a few minutes late.

  
“Hell, if I can somehow impress your family, then this will be a cakewalk for you,” he had told her as they walked inside. It was unusual to see their roles reversed. Inuyasha was usually irrationally emotional while Kagome was calm and composed. It was like he channeled his own inner Kagome, and it warmed her heart to think she could have played a role in his changed demeanor.

  
Kagome only had another minute to fret over her predicament before the most confusing sight was set before her. Over in the far corner of the room she spied her friend Miroku and his wife, Sango, sitting together at a booth. Normally, she would have stopped to say a quick hello, but tonight was too important to Inuyasha for her to get distracted by her friends. Except Inuyasha had broken away from her and started walking towards that exact table. Which confused her, because there wasn’t anyone else sitting in that section of the restaurant, and shouldn’t they be grabbing their own table if their dining partners hadn’t arrived yet? It only took another second, as Sango stood up from the booth to greet Inuyasha with a hug, for Kagome to come to the realization that her good friends wife was actually in fact the best friend of her boyfriend. The same best friend they were meeting for dinner.

  
Cue the unending laughter from Miroku.

  
He found the whole thing terribly amusing, and in a way it was. Although, at first, Kagome nor Inuyasha could see the humor in the situation. How was it, that Sango had tried to hook Inuyasha up with a plethora of women, and _somehow_ Kagome didn’t end up as one of them? Kagome and Miroku may not have been tied at the hip, but he wasn’t unaware of her relationship troubles! How did the idea of their pairing not pop into that lecherous brain of his? In the end, Kagome had decided that it didn’t matter. Despite the odds, they still managed to find each other. And besides, this turned out to be a much better situation for Kagome. At least she didn’t have to worry about impressing a woman she had never met before.

  
So, whether they had good or bad luck Kagome didn’t know, nor did she care to set aside any more thoughts on it. What mattered was that in the end, they found each other and currently shared a happy coexistence together.

  
Unlike their first date – as Inuyasha likes to call them – Inuyasha and Kagome made sure to exchange numbers as soon as possible. They ended up staying at the ramen shop for so long that they had to be kicked out after long after closing, and still ended up at a coffee shop just up the road from Kagome's apartment to converse long after the sun rose. Inuyasha finally decided to end their night when Kagome could barely keep her head or eyes open. If she remembered correctly, in his own words, she ‘ _was just a weak human who needed more sleep than a cat'_.

  
Kagome heard the shower turn off and she snickered at thoughts of her “mean" little hanyou. He pulled off such a gruff exterior so well, but Kagome knew all about his soft interior. She was one of the few people who were allowed to see it, let alone know of its existence.

  
Kagome was just finishing up their eggs when Inuyasha walked into the kitchen, his hair still dripping wet, with only a towel around his waist.

  
“Really?” she asked. “You’re gonna eat breakfast like that?”

  
“Feh, you're really gonna complain about it?” he replied with a smirk on his face as he took his plate from her and sat down at their little dining table. It really wasn't fair of him; who wouldn’t want to see their buff, dripping wet boyfriend eat breakfast in only a towel? Inuyasha knew her all too well.

  
They sat in congenial silence, enjoying simply being in each other’s presence. When Kagome was finished, Inuyasha ushered her off to the shower with the promise of cleaning up and getting any last minute items prepared. One last look over her shoulder revealed her wonderful boyfriend feeding Buyo, and she couldn’t help but stall at the door and stare, making sure to take it all in.

  
_‘How did I get so lucky?’_ was her last thought before disappearing into the bathroom. She couldn’t wait to have him all to herself this weekend.

  
**《~~~~~~~~~~~》**

Inuyasha hated long car rides. He hated car rides in general, but as long as they were kept short, he would tolerate him. As a hanyou, he didn’t experience motion sickness, he just didn’t like feeling confined. He had similar feelings for trains and planes as well. He’d never been on a boat before, but he expected he would feel the same about it. If Inuyasha could have his way, he'd just walk everywhere, and normally he'd would complain about such things until there was no more breath left in him, but today he would keep these thoughts to himself. He could endure far worse than a six hour car ride for the woman sitting in the passenger seat.

  
He might've hated how they were transporting themselves there, but there wasn’t a negative thought about cars that could drive away Inuyasha’s happiness on finally being able to go on this trip. Inuyasha, like Kagome, had also started getting antsy over the winter months and was looking forward to stretching out his legs in the great outdoors after being immobile for so long. Kagome, the wonderful woman she is, planned a weekend full of nothing but the great outdoors. They were heading south towards the beach to soak up some much needed sun. There was also a local sea cave and lighthouse nearby that they planned on visiting, both spots abundant in walking trails and radiant views of the ocean.

  
Honestly, Inuyasha _would_ have done anything so long as Kagome was by his side. He had never felt so happy and content in all his life, and Inuyasha couldn’t wait to show her what that meant to him. Kagome might have planned out this trip, but Inuyasha had his own agenda, the only bit of evidence of his plans hidden deep at the bottom of his duffel bag. 

  
They had been on the road for about four hours, passing the time with casual conversation. Kagome had spent the past month creating what she deemed ‘the perfect road trip playlist’, which was currently playing over the car speakers. The gentle melody of a piano lulled them into a comfortable silence. Inuyasha glanced over at Kagome to see her gazing out the window with a small smile on her face.

  
They had been dating for a little over a year, but Inuyasha knew that Kagome was _the one_. For some reason, she found him endearing, and didn’t seem to care all that much about his _many_ faults. She didn’t find his from attitude irritating, she actually liked his more demonic features, she didn’t mind that he liked to work long hours at the shop – although Inuyasha found himself there way less nowadays, not when there was a beautiful woman for him to entertain. She never acted like she was better than him and always made it known that they were equal partners, right from the start. Kagome had to be the most patient woman on the planet. Not that she was without her own faults he would have you know, but if anything those faults just made him love her more.

  
There was no denying, Kagome could dish out just as much as she was given, if not more depending on the situation. She was stubborn as all hell, sometimes a bit of a know-it-all, and given the circumstance she could get pretty prideful in her own way. All traits that Inuyasha shared, and when those traits clashed, you could expect an explosion. People knew by now to keep their distance.

  
Kagome's friends were the first to learn that the hard way. Inuyasha had never met a group of girls who could grind on his nerves like Kagome's old high school friends. There seemed to be no end to the barrage of questions they threw at him. How’d you meet? How long have you lived here? Do you like being a mechanic? Is that your natural hair color? Can I touch your ears? They were insufferable. At least the one girl was relatively soft spoken – _Ayumi was her name, right?_ – there was no hope for the other two girls who could only seem to nothing but shriek at him all night. But out of all of them, he hated Hojo the most.

  
_‘Alright, so hate is a strong word,’_ he mustered, slightly gripping the steering wheel tighter than he had to. He was well aware that Hojo was married to the soft spoken girl, and that Kagome had absolutely no romantic feelings regarding the boy, but those facts failed to fully settle the demon in him when he found out he and Kagome had once dated. His demon was extremely possessive, and couldn’t fathom his woman hanging around an old flame, no matter how boring he was. Inuyasha knew how to keep his demon at bay, but even that couldn’t lessen the dark looks and low growls he made every time Hojo said something. It also didn’t help that Hojo seemed to be oblivious to Inuyasha's negative demeanor towards him, although Kagome sure wasn't. The end of the night came and went, Kagome's friends making snide remarks about his temper – with an exception of Hojo and Ayumi who seemed to let anything and everything roll right off them- while Kagome and him lashed out at each other from the restaurant, to the car, on the ride home, to her apartment, ending in the bedroom. Because with every fight came the all mighty make -up sex. And _boy_ did they do a ton of that.

  
At least his first impressions with her family turned out better. Her younger brother was almost as annoying as Kagome's friends, and her grandfather seemed to glare at him all night, but there was nothing but warmth and acceptance from her mother - which Kagome noted to him that her opinion was really the only one that mattered; she would put the other two in their place when it came to Inuyasha if need be.

  
Inuyasha had remember how daunting it was to finally meet her family, especially after the disaster that they now dubbed ‘The Hojo Incident’. It was bad enough that her friends seemed to think he was a good-for-nothing half breed with an anger management problem. Or, at least, that’s what Inuyasha had determined they thought of him, no matter how much Kagome argued otherwise. If Inuyasha couldn’t even manage to impress her family, then what good was he to her? The last thing he would have wanted was to exile her, making her choose her lover over her family.

  
It seemed though that those thoughts were unwarranted. Inuyasha quickly learned that night where Kagome acquired her open acceptance and warm embrace of everything that was a part of him. And who could care about the opinions of shrilly girls like them anyways, when the people who truly mattered seemed to hold him in such high esteem.

  
Kagome had even managed impress his irritatingly egotistical, cold-as-ice brother, Sesshomaru. Not that Sesshomaru had said anything particularly nice about her, but it was more important what he _didn't_ say. He didn’t end the night by calling out her human heritage, or calling her weak, annoying, or unworthy of his time. Which basically translated to ‘Yeah, she’s alright’. No doubt the fact that his adopted daughter, Rin, thought Kagome was the greatest person in the world had a little something to do with his overall opinion of Kagome. No matter the reason, Sesshomaru hadn't managed to run Kagome off, so he'd take what he could get.

  
Not that Inuyasha particularly cared about the opinion of his asshole brother, but Sesshomaru was helping him store some of his belongings, so he guessed he could try and get on his good side.

  
About seven months into their relationship, the lease was up on Inuyasha's apartment, and seeing as Inuyasha spent pretty much almost all of his time there, moving in with Kagome was a no brainer. He had no fondness for most of his furniture and donated whatever he didn’t need; Kagome had better furniture than him anyways. There was only a few pieces of furniture that held any emotional value to Inuyasha – a beautiful, hand painted, six-drawer solid wood dresser and a matching five-shelf bookcase – that had once belonged to his mother. Although Inuyasha was sure Kagome would have sold her soul for that bookcase, there simply was not much extra room in her apartment to fit them, and luckily it seemed that Sesshomaru was in a generous enough mood and agreed to store them in an empty guest room until he found a bigger place.

  
No – until _they_ found a better place. Family was met, friends were won over, and they were sharing a residence. All the pieces were falling into place. All that was left was to ask her to become his wife.

**《~~~~~~~~~~~》**

“Oh, what a beautiful room! The pictures on their website don’t even compare to this!” Kagome exclaimed as Inuyasha set their duffel on the bed. He had to admit, Kagome had truly outdone herself.

  
The villa was nestled along the lush landscape of a modest highland that overlooked the ocean. They were booked in a one bedroom suite, complete with a full kitchenette, whirlpool tub, and a terrace with their own personal fire pit overlooking the shoreline. It was like having their own private treehouse, neighboring suites situated far enough to give guests the ultimate perception of seclusion. 

  
Kagome ran straight to the terrace to admire the view upon entering their room while Inuyasha set about changing for dinner. It was already late afternoon by the time they checked in. According to the front desk, the villa housed it’s very own stone kiln for freshly homemade pizzas, and at the grumbling of Inuyasha's stomach, so their night had been decided. They had dressed for comfort to prepare themselves for the six hour car ride, packing the provisions necessary for a pleasant, romantic dinner.

  
“Ok, wench! You can drool over the room later, I’m dying of hunger over here!” Inuyasha teased at Kagome with a smirk on his face. He could almost feel the fiery glare he was sure she was sending his way. It was a crime, how easy it was to rile her up.

  
“Oh hold your horses,” Kagome grumbled. “I still have to put away the snacks we didn’t eat on the way here!” Inuyasha stuck his head out of the bedroom just long enough to poke his tongue out towards her before slamming the door shut. A good move as far as Kagome was concerned, for she was not above hurling a throw pillow at his vexing, yet handsome head.

  
After they changed and everything was settled in their room, Inuyasha and Kagome walked down to the courtyard where they held the kilns. Circular paper lanterns were hung overhead with lit torches lining the perimeter, giving the courtyard a dreamlike glow. To Inuyasha and Kagome, it was like they had been placed in a fairytale, surrounded by verdant forestry, the melody of a harp dancing in the air.

  
Dinner was peaceful and relaxing. They shared a bottle of wine, marveling at the beauty of their surroundings and discussing their plans for the weekend. Kagome couldn’t wait to sunbathe on the beach and swim in the cool, blue waters. Inuyasha remarked how he couldn’t wait to lather her in suntan lotion all day, which earned him a half-hearted slap on his arm. The look in her eyes definitely didn’t discount the idea, although it was an action she felt best undertaken in the privacy of their suite beforehand. After dinner, they huddled together under a blanket by the bonfire on their terrace, making s’mores and stargazing well into the night.

  
The following day was a vacationer’s paradise. Inuyasha and Kagome couldn’t remember the last time they both had a day off together, neither one roused from sleep by an early alarm, forced to keep an all too empty bed warm when the other leaves. The only alarm clock they had were the first rays of daylight peeking in through the curtains, the sounds of a light breeze rustling the leaves of the trees outside the bedroom window and of birds chirping nearby. It was a natural symphony more beautiful than anything composed by humans and demons alike.

  
They enjoyed breakfast in bed, finishing off the bento boxes they didn’t eat from the day before. Just as Kagome thought the night before, their trip to the beach did end up being delayed. Not that Kagome was complaining. After all, they had to make sure the bed would be stable enough for the remainder of the weekend. Several times in fact. Luckily, the villa seemed to spare no expense on durable furniture.

  
The rest of their day passed by quickly, affirming the old phrase ‘time flies when you’re having fun'. The water was still a little chilly for May, the temperature not set to rise to more comfortable swimming conditions for another month or so, but Kagome was determined to make the best of it. After all, if Kagome hadn't made their vacations plans for May and chose one of the warmer, summer months, than they would’ve had to deal with a packed beach full of screaming kids and boisterous tourists. Inuyasha was not one for crowds, or people for that matter, and in this instance Kagome felt the same. Besides, she much preferred the almost empty beach, with the exception of a few people scattered here and there, and it made their time spent sunbathing on the sand, or frolicking amongst the waves that more memorable.

  
Inuyasha didn’t mind spending a couple of hours at the beach, but he was far more excited about their other plans for the day. A ten minute drive from the villa was a small nature park that held the sea cave Kagome had read about. There wasn’t anything particularly _special_ about the area, other than the fact that is was close to villa they were staying at, but Inuyasha was eager hike the trails of the woods, to lose himself in the beautiful stillness of the trees, to inhale that sweet, clear scent of absolute purity that always came with being out in nature. Places like these had the ability to push Inuyasha back in time, before the human population exploded in number, when you could run for miles upon miles and only encounter forest. Places like these managed to both stir and calm the demon in him, where he felt like the best version of himself. Living in a crowded city like Tokyo, Inuyasha always made sure to plan a couple of trips like this throughout the year, but he was sure that none of them could be better than this one. None of his other trips had Kagome.

  
Kagome never ceased to amaze him. The way the sunlight filtered through the trees to caress her face, her hair tied up in a high pony tail showing off the nape of her neck, the sweat pouring off her skin glistening like she was adorned with diamonds. Her swim suit was far more revealing than the simple tank top and leggings she wore for their nature excursion, but to Inuyasha, she couldn’t have looked more beautiful if she were completely naked.

  
Kagome touched nearly every tree they passed, a look of wonderment etched on her face, as if she was paying reverence to the spirits of the land. Inuyasha grabbed his phone out from his pocket, camera at the ready. He planned on capturing every moment with the beautiful woman standing in front of him, so he could remember these moments for all his life.

**《~~~~~~~~~~~》**

By now, it was safe to assume that Inuyasha was _freaking_ out. He had been thinking about this day for months, meticulously planning every detail with the hopes that doing so would give him some sort of control over the whole situation. But here he was, laying in bed beside a slumbering Kagome, his mind hit with a torturing case of insomnia due to the crushing realization that he actually held no control. It was an illusion, and he was foolish to think he ever had such a thing.

  
A low whine roused him from his thoughts as Kagome turned over in her sleep. She wrapped her arm over his torso, snuggling herself against his side before drifting back into her peaceful sleep.

  
Inuyasha didn’t deserve her. He didn’t deserve her love, her devotion, or her thoughtfulness. He didn’t deserve to end his day with her in their bed, or wake up beside her the next morning. She was pure light, so bright that not even the sun could compare. And for some reason, she deigned him worthy of basking in all the warmth she could give him.

  
Inuyasha wasn’t ignorant of all the work Kagome put into making this trip as pleasant and relaxing as she could for him. She was the one who planned pretty much their entire trip, from researching their location to booking their villa. She not only packed her own bag, but helped Inuyasha pack his own bag when he worked late nights at the shop. She stayed up late the night before they left to make their bento boxes after prepping all day at work. He was pretty sure she planned their vacation during a lull before the summer months so he wouldn’t have to deal with the crowds of people it brought with it. Hell, she had even forgone having dinner at a fancy restaurant to eat at a simple ramen shop. Because of him. Because he'd rather eat ramen than get all dressed up to eat sub-par food at unreasonable prices.

  
And those were only the things she did for him during this one weekend.

  
That didn’t include all the times she cooked him dinner after a long day at work, or washed his grease stained laundry when he forgot. Kagome always took the time and energy to make sure everyone around her was taken care of, no matter how tired she was or how busy she was. She was _selfless_ , so much so that it angered him at times when it seemed she was putting other’s above her own needs. Yet, at the same time it was one of the things he loved about her.

  
A soft breeze brushed against the skin of his face, coming from the little window they had left open the night before. Inuyasha raised his free hand to gently stroke her cheek with his knuckles. He may not deserve her now, but he sure as hell was going to try. He was going to do everything in his power to show her how much he cared about her. How much he respected her. How deep his love was for her.

  
He took hold of the arm draped across his torso and nuzzled his nose into her hair, reveling in the calming aroma that was Kagome. There would be no sleep for Inuyasha tonight, not until he could lay beside her again with the knowledge that she was his. Forever.

**《~~~~~~~~~~~》**

Inuyasha was up to something, Kagome was sure of it. Today was the last day of their vacation, and the plan was to get up early so they could take a trip to a local lighthouse before having lunch and making the long drive home. What Kagome did not realize was that getting up early meant rising before the crack of dawn. She was slightly flabbergasted to be woken up by an already dressed Inuyasha. He had almost all of their clothes and toiletries packed, with the exception of Kagome's bag, and brought her a variety of fruits for breakfast from the continental breakfast the villa offered.

  
Now, barely an hour after being woken up, their bags were packed, had checked out of their suite, and were on their way to the lighthouse. Kagome sat in the passenger seat, peeking over at her hanyou trying to decipher what his intentions were.

  
“I didn’t know you had an affinity for lighthouses,” Kagome pondered.

  
“What’re ya talking about wench?”

  
“Well, you were adamant about us leaving so early this morning, It must be because you're excited to visit the lighthouse.”

  
“Feh, we got a long day ahead of us. I just want us to beat the morning traffic.”

  
“Hmm…I guess so,” she replied, not quite believing him. It was a standard Inuyasha reply, she’ll give him that. “I’ll make sure we leave with a souvenir for you, dear.”

  
She didn’t miss the faint blush that covered his cheeks.

  
Inuyasha had not been kidding when he talked about beating any morning traffic. Kagome could almost count the number of cars she saw on one hand, and they pulled into the lighthouse parking lot just as the groundskeeper was opening the lighthouse for visitors.

  
It was going to be a beautiful morning, Kagome was sure of it. Grabbing a brochure from the entrance, they made their way past the main grounds towards the hiking trails that led to the coastline. She wanted to watch the sun break out over the open ocean, to see how in mere seconds the dark blue sky could transform into the warm dawn of a new day.

  
“What a beautiful view!” Kagome exclaimed, pressed up against the railing. The trail ended at the tip of a cape, overlooking the craggy rocks along the coast. The dark sky had already begun to lighten, orange and pink clouds dotting the horizon, just waiting for the sun to peek from its watery slumber.

  
“Yeah…it's beautiful alright,” Inuyasha smiled, his eyes admiring more than just the view before them. A soft wind blew from the east, lightly lifting her ebony locks from her shoulders. They were surrounded by a perfume of crisp air and salty seawater, the sounds of the waves hitting the rocks beneath them lulling them into a state of utter tranquility. As far as Kagome was concerned, they were the last two people on Earth, standing at the edge of the world.

  
They stood together silently for a few minutes, taking in the serenity of twilight, as the first signs of the new dawn came before them.

  
“Inuyasha! Look! It's coming!” Kagome grabbed hold of his arm, jumping up and down in excitement. She let go his arm to once again lean against the railing, to be as close to the sun as she possibly thought she could get. Another moment passes, and finally the sun breaks free of the horizon. The ocean became doused in orange hues, like flames dancing on the surface. Kagome could feel first waves of unadulterated warmth ebbing off the rising star, gently caressing her cheeks, and she was sure there wasn’t anything more beautiful in the world than that sunrise.

  
Until she turned around anyways.

  
“This was such a good idea Inuyasha! I’ve never seen a more – “ Kagome's throat suddenly closed as she whirled around to look at him. Except, he wasn't standing right behind as her. One knee on the ground was all that held him up, his hands occupied with the careful handling of a tiny black box. What really left her speechless though, was what that tiny black box held. Inside was the most beautiful ring Kagome had ever laid eyes on. It wasn't a very extravagant ring, most people might find it plain when compared to other rings, but Kagome stood there entranced by its simplicity. A deep green emerald shined between two sparkling diamonds on a silver band.

  
“Inuyasha…” was all Kagome could manage to whisper as she continued to stare at the ring unabashedly. She was afraid of the waterworks that would follow if she said anything more.

  
“Kagome,” Inuyasha breathed, and Kagome was sure she heard that little break of his voice.

  
“I didn't think….After Kikyo… _dammit_ I’m fucking this up!” he glowered at himself, closing his eyes in an attempt to ring in his anger. He opened his eyes with a newfound determination after a deep breath.

  
“I never thought I’d get here. All my life…dating was always hit and miss for me until I met Kikyo. When she left, it had only strengthened the idea in me that I was always going to be alone. And then I met you. I found the most beautiful, caring, selfless woman I have ever met, someone who taught me what it really means to love someone and to really be loved by someone. I have never been happier in my life, and it's all because you're by my side. I don’t deserve you, Kagome, but I love you with all my heart, and if you’ll let me I will spend the rest of my life trying to earn that. Stay with me Kagome. Please, make me the happiest man alive and marry me.”

  
For a moment there was only silence between the two before they were interrupted by a light sob. Kagome covered her mouth with her hand in an attempt to hold back more tears, but she quickly realized that it was futile. She couldn’t stop crying, nor did she want to. She was too happy to care either way.

  
“Yes. Of course I will!” Kagome cried out, throwing her arms around his neck and crashing her lips upon his own. Inuyasha's senses were in a frenzy. Her kisses burned his lips, and he could taste the salt in her tears. The sound of her heart boomed in his ears like a beating drum, cancelling out everything around them. His entire world was blurring, leaving only Kagome in clear definition.

  
They finally released each other when air became necessary, and Inuyasha took the advantage of a star-struck Kagome to place the ring on her trembling finger. Neither one could remember if they had ever been happier than in that moment. No more words were spoken as they continued to watch the sun rise. At some point they would have to move on and continue with their day, but they weren’t worried about time. Kagome didn’t have the desire to continue their visit with the lighthouse, nor did she care if anyone else walked in on their precious moment. There was no rush to drive home, and if Kagome had her way, they would never leave. All that mattered was her, Inuyasha, and that sunrise.


	4. Birthdays

Youkai are some of the most fearsome creatures. Back in ancient times, they ruled over the lands, coming and going as they pleased. Once upon a time, a village’s survival depended fully on the kind of youkai that overlooked their lands, and even then it was common for lesser tiered youkai to destroy huts, kill livestock, or kidnap unsuspecting villagers. Eventually, times changed, and the human population soared to heights never before seen, prompting the youkai world to completely change their dynamic with humankind. Nowadays, youkai and humans live peacefully together with the knowledge that working together bore bigger fruits than fighting against one another.

Of the more dangerous variants of youkai are the inuyokai, known for their ferocity and superb hunting skills. Sharp fangs, claws that cut better than most swords, and heightened senses all helped their kind become the ultimate predator.

It was a most bewildering sight to witness, two of the deadliest creatures on Earth seated in tiny pink chairs and sipping imaginary tea with a small group of young girls.

Kagome held her hand over her mouth in an attempt to stifle her giggles. Today was their daughter's fifth birthday, and Koemi’s wish was to play tea party with all her friends. Of course, this also included her father and uncle. Inuyasha often played princess and held tea parties with their daughter, although the only audience present during these times would be Kagome and a fleet of plush bears and other assorted toys. It was watching the great Lord Sesshomaru that amused her to no end; a cold-blooded killer, sporting a bright pink feathered boa and a matching sun hat. If only Kagome hadn’t left her phone in the kitchen, she would have killed to have photographic evidence of this precious moment.

Luckily for Kagome, Kagura is always ready for moments like these. She has no shame in taking photos of her husband in the most compromising of positions. Kagura has probably hundreds of those kinds of photos, all of them different but equal in the way they soften the 'heart-of-ice' taiyoukai.

“Kagura, make sure you send me copies of those!” Kagome laughed.

“Oh, don’t worry, I think I'm going to make this our next Christmas card,” Kagura teased. A low growl that went unnoticed by the group of girls reached the two onlookers, although it failed to have its desired effect. Instead, it merely egged the two women on more, the sounds of giggling and camera shutters overshadowing Sesshomaru's irritated growling.

“Hi mommy!”

“ _ Princess  _ Koemi,” Kagome flourished, giving the birthday girl a fancy curtsey. “The mid-day snack is ready if it pleases you?”

“Yes!”

“Shall we move to the kitchen then?” Both Kagome and Kagura stuck out their arms for the giddy girls as they left to meet Sango in the kitchen, filling the hallway with their giggling. Koemi was the last to leave as she took the small, purple tiara off of Inuyasha's head so she could switch it with Sesshomaru's sun hat.

“There Uncle Sess, you can wear the tiara next time!” Koemi said, throwing her little arms around his neck and planting a kiss on his nose, before running out to the kitchen. Kagome’s heart felt warm watching her daughter interact with her brother-in-law. She knew that his relationship with Inuyasha had always been rocky; they both grew into such different people that it was more difficult for them to be able to connect with one another. She was glad those feelings didn't stick to her children, especially since her daughter is usually Sesshomaru's shadow whenever he was around.

" _ Ugh,  _ that was so adorable," Kagura sighed, holding one hand to her chest. "Thank you so much for having a daughter who loves tea parties that I can piggyback off of."

"I take it Rin was never a fan of them?"

"No, Rin was far more concerned with picking flowers, climbing trees, and splashing in mud puddles. At least now I get to live the princess stage vicariously through Koemi."

"Easy for you to say dear, when you're the one behind the camera and not in front of it," Sesshomaru said as he stood with Inuyasha, slightly rushing to take off the bright, glittery accessories that were strewn on him.

"Keh, don't be such a stick in the mud Sesshomaru. Not Kagura's fault Koemi's obsessed with you. For reasons unknown." Inuyasha muttered the last part, flopping the oversized sun hat onto his now empty chair, although it did nothing to stop Sesshomaru from hearing it. Sesshomaru sniffed pompously at Inuyasha as he exited the room with Kagura following afterwards. While he exerted a huge amount of patience with the children, Sesshomaru was always one to think highly of his appearance, and no doubt wanted to be completely free of any feathers, glitter, or wrinkles on his person.

Kagome merely smiled at them both as they walked past her. Sesshomaru could huff and puff all he wanted, but Kagome knew that deep down, Sesshomaru was just a big old softie when it came to children. She still remembered how he acted the day that Koemi was born. He acted as though he had better places to be that day than coming to meet his new niece, but his unwillingness on entering the room coupled with a slightly apprehensive look in his eyes told Kagome he was merely attempting to mask his cautious emotions with indifference. Despite his uninterested demeanor, Kagome was adamant about having all immediate family hold her new daughter. They had learned from their first child that it was important for infant inuyoukai to take in the scent of all family members who would help care for the child. This included Sesshomaru, whether he liked it or not.

In order to gain some semblance of control, Sesshomaru waited until he and Kagura were the only people left in the room to hold her, but it was worth every second of it to see her usually emotionless brother-in-law interact with her new daughter. Kagome and Inuyasha had never seen the stone cold taiyoukai hold anything with such care, let alone crack a smile. Suddenly, it was like everyone else in the room didn’t exist except for Sesshomaru and their daughter. She babbled for a few seconds before wrapping her tiny little hand around one of his clawed fingers, giving him a warm smile, and falling asleep in his arms. In fact, it was that first smile she gave Sesshomaru that led Kagome and Inuyasha to call her Koemi.

Ever since that day, Koemi’s favorite person has been her Uncle Sess. If there are days when the kids need a babysitter, Sesshomaru and Kagura are usually the first called since Koemi is always on her best behaviour for him. Which is much to her brothers' chagrin when that happens; Kichirou would much rather be spoiled and pampered by grandma over at the shrine than forced to go to bed at a reasonable time at Uncle's.

“Where’s the other pup?” Inuyasha asked, pulling his wife into a gentle embrace

“I believe Rin and the boys are all outside playing,” she responded, wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him in for a chaste kiss. “Did you want to go and bring them inside for their snack? I’m sure Rin could use a break from entertaining that rambunctious lot.”

“Are you kidding?" he chuckled. "No doubt Rin is putting all those boys through the ringer, no matter how old they are.”

Kagome laughed at that statement. If there was one trait Rin picked up from her father, it was competitiveness. Neither age, nor gender, nor species were valid excuses for losing. At least Rin was much kinder to her opponents than her father was.

“Well then, you might want to go and save them from her then,” she replied. They came together for one last, lingering kiss before pulling away. Inuyasha walked out into the hallway, leaving Kagome to tear down the tea party that had taken over Rin’s room.

It was hard for Kagome to believe that eleven years had passed. So much had transpired in their lives since Inuyasha had proposed. The first couple of years were hectic for the newly engaged couple. A month and a half after their vacation, Kagome found out that she was pregnant. Pregnancy was, in a word, exhausting, between work and house hunting - since it was now imperative for them to find a bigger home with a little one on the way. They decided to have a small ceremony at her grandfather's shrine about six months in, in lieu of a larger affair. A couple of months afterwards, baby Kichirou was born, and five years later, Koemi completed their family of four. Kagome was now the official owner and head chef of the diner she had been working at, and Inuyasha's mechanic shop was doing so well, he was able to hire several new employees to counter the boom in business they had seen in the last few years. Life for her little family could not have been better.

A muffled yelp reached Kagome as she put away the last of Koemi’s princess accessories, followed by the shrieking giggles she knew belonged to the group of boys outside. Glancing out the window, she saw Inuyasha crouched on the ground, as if ready to pounce. The small group of boys were howling with laughter as they ran as fast as their little legs would take them; Rin was playfully barking out orders in an attempt to thwart their new enemy, Inuyasha, while Sota stood on the sidelines catching everything on camera. Kagome huffed lightly at her husband; She should have known he would get all caught up in their game instead of herding them inside. She didn’t concern herself over it much, though. Inuyasha would soon work up an appetite chasing those boys, and demand everyone to go inside and eat. Little could stop Inuyasha when he was hungry enough.

Kagome was thankful for Sesshomaru and Kagura allowing them use of their home for Koemi's birthday. A couple of years ago, Inuyasha and Kagome had made the decision that when one child had a birthday, the other was allowed to bring a few of their own friends to come and celebrate. It helped keep both kids happily occupied, especially since their interests became extremely varied; Koemi was your typical little girl who loved everything girly and pink, while Kichirou wanted nothing more than to be a great warrior like his inuyoukai ancestors. While their own home was spacious enough for the family of four, it was easy for the house to become cramped, especially as their immediate family grew throughout the years. Sesshomaru's home was practically a mansion - in Kagome's eyes anyways - and provided them space for both the children to run around and for the adults to mingle.

_ 'I'll have to find a way to thank them for this,'  _ Kagome thought as she made her way back downstairs. Sango was still stationed in the kitchen, watching over the girls as they ate their snack. Miroku and her grandfather were seated in the living room chatting up a storm; Miroku had majored in Religion in college, which made him the perfect candidate to talk all about the family shrine to. Mama was guiding Ayumi, Hojo, and Eri, who had just arrived, into the dining room where all of Koemi's presents were sitting just as Sesshomaru and Kagura were making their way downstairs.

Kagome loved birthdays. She loved how everyone would come together to celebrate another year of life. No matter how big or small the affair, there would be nothing but smiles on everyone's face and laughter filling the air. Every year was different; the guest list for a birthday party fluctuated from the death or birth of a family member to new friends and marriages. The older the kids got, the more intricate the party, but Kagome took it all in stride. She'd do anything to make her kid's birthday a day they'd never forget.

Kagome heard the sound of the back door being flung open as the small group of boys stormed through the house with Rin and Sota bringing up the rear.

"All right runts, make sure you wash your hands before grabbing anything in that kitchen. Don't make me sick the dog on ya," Inuyasha yelled to the boys. One look at the mischievous glint in Inuyasha's eyes and Kagome knew that last statement was a jab at Sesshomaru. It wasn't one of his finest jokes, but Inuyasha had learned that sometimes, it didn't take much to rile his brother up.

"Now now, play nice boys, or I'll have to make you hold hand the rest of the night!" Kagome joked. She made her way towards Sango to prepare her and the girls for the onslaught of boys that would invade the kitchen, leaving her husband and brother-in-law to stand in the hallway, a look of pure disgust on their faces.

No matter what, she would hold on to these memories for as long as she could.

《~~~~~~~~~~~》

Kichirou and Koemi were many things. Smart, caring, determined. Sneaky was not one of them, especially when it came to Koemi.

Currently, the two pups were huddled in the living room together, whispering about some 'super top secret birthday plan'. Not like it was a secret for much longer; Kichirou was beginning to get better at keeping his voice low and unintelligible, but Koemi’s loud whispers could be discernible by human standards, let alone a youkai’s. She didn’t seem to have put much thought into what it meant to have an inu hanyou for a father. They might have come out on top in terms of secrecy had Kagome been the one in charge of getting them ready for bed - instead she was putting all of the leftover food and cake they brought back with them into the fridge. Unfortunately for them, Inuyasha could hear every word they said, no matter how quiet they thought they were being. And he was not liking what he was hearing.

Inuyasha would have thought that after a full day of princess duties and warrior battles that the pups would have been in a deep sleep by the time they arrived back home, in need of their father to carry them inside. Instead, they had conversed throughout the entire ride home, keeping both of them awake. After changing into their pajamas, Koemi and Kichirou were sent to go brush their teeth while Inuyasha was turning down beds and plugging in nightlights. He had become suspicious when neither of the pups arrived in their rooms, and had ventured down into the living room to spy on them when a most dreadful word hit his ears.

_ ‘Puppy’. _

Inuyasha silently groaned. It was definitely near the bottom of Inuyasha's list of 'things he didn't want to talk about tonight'. In hindsight, he should have seen this day coming. This wasn’t the first time Kichirou had pleaded his case to his parents for a dog, although this was the first time he was bringing Koemi into the mix. Inuyasha could picture it now. Koemi will prattle on about how much fun she had today, and how she got  _ so  _ many gifts.  _ ‘Do you know what would be the best gift though, daddy? A puppy!’.  _ Well, if they thought they could corner one singular parent after a long day of babysitting almost ten children to get what they wanted, then they were sorely mistaken. Inuyasha was  _ not  _ having this conversation tonight, no matter how many cute, puppy eyes they could conjure up.

Inuyasha wasn’t sure exactly when he officially decided to never become a dog owner. It wasn’t like he had anything against dogs. If he had to pinpoint as exact a moment as he could muster, it was probably sometime in high school. One day after school, Inuyasha had found an injured stray dog near some dumpsters. A small group of two, maybe three people had been trying to get a hold of the dog to get him looked at, but the mongrel was so terrified that he growled and nipped at anyone who attempted to get near him. Wanting to do his part, Inuyasha stuck around and was able to coax the dog out enough to grab him by the scruff of his neck and calm him enough to get into a cage. Inuyasha was barely phased by the whole ordeal, but a couple of students in his class had caught the whole exchange on camera, and the next day at school, Inuyasha was bequeathed the title of ‘Dog Whisperer’. It soon became an on-going joke with everyone he went to school with, and by the time the term ‘dog parent’ was thrown into the mix, Inuyasha had sworn to himself he would never see a dog in his household.

Throughout the years, Inuyasha had finally made his peace with his classmate’s  _ generally _ good-natured jests, but his stubbornness would still not allow him to break his old promise to himself to never get a dog. Besides, Inuyasha had no desire to explain to his children his reasons why he didn’t want to get a dog. Kichirou and Koemi had been lucky so far, in that no one had yet made a big deal of their demonic features, especially when paired with their human mother, and Inuyasha wanted to keep it that way. There was no point in opening up a bad can of worms.

“Oi, what’s the hold up out here?” Inuyasha barked as he stepped fully into the living room. He had to hold back a smirk as the two pups jumped in surprise at being found out.

“We’re not holding anything!”Koemi replied, holding out her empty hands as evidence.

“Hmmm…” Inuyasha walked towards them and grabbed Koemi’s wrists, diligently inspecting them as if he was trying to find an invisible object. Koemi giggled at the action, and Inuyasha could see Kichirou’s shoulders relax. “I suppose you’re right, birthday girl. It’s time for bed though, so scamper on upstairs.”

“First one upstairs wins, Koemi!” Suddenly, the two pups were a blur as they raced past Inuyasha, laughter floating throughout the house and their thundering footsteps rattling the staircase. Inuyasha let out a soft chuckle before slowly making his way upstairs. He would definitely have to be on his toes tonight.

The first room on the agenda for bedtime is always Koemi’s. Either Inuyasha or Kagome will go in to read her a bedtime story and tuck her into bed, making sure there are no monsters in the closet or under her bed. Kichirou’s turn for goodnight hugs is afterwards, since he is older and sometimes allowed to stay up a little later than his younger sister. Kichirou used to snuggle up with his sister for the daily bedtime story, which usually led to either parent having to carry him back to his room if he fell asleep, but he had decided a couple of years ago that he was too old for bedtime stories,making bedtime a separate act for both kids. Tonight seemed like it was a special occasion. Inuyasha peered into Koemi’s room to find the two of them snuggled up tight in her bed, almost lost among the animal shaped pillows and stuffed toys that took refuge there.

It was a sight that would have melted his heart had he no idea of the scheming that was being planned between them just a few minutes ago.

“Well, Kichi, this is a surprise,” Inuyasha marveled, fully walking in the room to stand beside the bed. “Are you joining us for the bedtime story tonight?”

“It’s Ko’s birthday, so I figured I could sit in on one bedtime story.” Koemi squeezed her brother a little tighter at his answer.

“Well, isn’t that thoughtful of you,”  _ ‘Or should I say convenient?’  _ “Alright then pups, what story will it be tonight?”

Koemi immediately shot her hand up. “Tell us the one about Inukane and the dog!”

_ ‘Of course they’d choose THAT story…’  _ he thought resignedly, combing through his memories to recall the story.

‘Inukane and the Stray’, as Kagome had titled it, was a story about a great inu youkai who once came upon an injured dog while scouting in his forest. Inukane felt compassion for the stray dog, so he carried him to a nearby cave to tend to his wounds. After communicating with the dog, Inukane learned that a group of bandits was ravaging villages that lie along the borders of his forest. The dog barely managed to escape with his life when the bandits came through the village his master lived in. Inukane became angry at the dog’s story and ventured out to fight the bandits that would hurt the innocent people who lived along his forest. After a long battle, Inukane defeated the bandits. On his way back to the cave, Inukane discovers that there is no one left in the village the dog lived in. The dog is saddened to learn the fate of his master and village, but Inukane makes a deal with the dog. From that moment on, the dog lives with Inukane and helps him guard the forest and villages for the rest of his life.

Inuyasha, truthfully, was a little scared to find out if there was a dog stashed in the backyard somewhere. Making a mental note to check for any stray dogs at the end of the night, he sat at the end of the bed and began his story.

《~~~~~~~~~~~》

_ ‘This is definitely Koemi's biggest haul of birthday presents to date.’  _ Kagome thought as she transferred paper plates filled with food and cake. Her mother had gone all out this year, which meant taking heaping plates home so that Kagura’s fridge wasn’t bogged down with an assortment of different foods. This was definitely the most elaborate party she had held for the now five year old, and Kagome knew she would really have to get her noggin running to think of something just as good for next year. Luckily, her daughter was fairly easy to please, for now anyways.

The slight creaking of the staircase suddenly caught her attention. Thinking Inuyasha had successfully put the kids to bed, Kagome walked towards the living room to see if Inuyasha wanted a drink before bed. She was surprised, instead, to see Koemi and Kichirou whispering next to the television.

Kagome wasn't naive to what her children were whispering about. In fact, this wasn't the first time she had caught them planning out the perfect chance to ask daddy to buy them a puppy. Kichirou was the ringleader, of course his desire to have his own dog was years in the making, although he didn't have to work hard to convince his younger sister to conspire with him. Their plan had been in the works for about two months now. Kagome had learned from Sesshomaru that Kichirou had come to him to learn about pack mentality and alpha status - under the guise of wanting to learn more about their inu youkai heritage - meanwhile Koemi tried to familiarize herself with dogs as much as she could, from movies and television shows to reading all kinds of books that featured dogs. Koemi and Kichirou had even been diligently keeping up with all their chores, plus some.

Most importantly though, Kagome had listened in to a conversation between her two children a month ago about how they could get around convincing their parents to get them a dog, so the proverbial 'cat was out of the bag'. Or dog, in this case.

Kagome had decided not to worry Inuyasha with this new bit of information when she put all the pieces together, intrigued at what their children would come up with to win them over. More so Inuyasha than herself anyways. In a playful sort of way, Kagome also wanted to see how Inuyasha would react to it all. For as long as she had known him, Inuyasha was adamant about not owning a dog. Inuyasha claimed that he  _ "wasn't a dog person",  _ a statement Kagome found incredibly hilarious, seeing as he was a dog demon. After Buyo passed away when Kichirou was only three years old, she had tried to persuade him to think about them having another pet, even if it was just another cat. Inuyasha just wouldn't budge on the issue while also never giving a reason. It was one of the greatest mysteries about her husband that, even after more than ten years, she hadn't figured out.

Which is why when Kagome saw their two children plotting in the living room when they should have been going to bed, she decided to simply let it be and see how things played out.

She had finished putting away the leftover birthday cake and started prepping the kitchen for breakfast the next day when she finally heard Inuyasha break up the gathering. Kagome let out a breathy chuckle; she could almost feel their thundering footsteps pounding against the staircase. Kagome hastily finished prepping for the next morning and quietly bounded up the staircase. She stopped beside of Koemi's door just as Koemi was demanding Inuyasha read 'Inukane and the Stray'.

_ 'I wouldn't have expected anything less,'  _ she bemusedly thought, listening to Inuyasha's soft sigh as he complied to her request. Kagome risked peeking into the room, and she couldn't help but admire the tenacity of their children as she took in the scene before her. Koemi and Kichirou were both snuggled up tight together on the bed. Kagome could barely see Koemi as she was almost lost among her large collection of blankets and pillows. Kichirou, who was laying closest to the wall, held his little sister in the crook of his right arm, the opposite hand entwined with her own.

Kagome couldn't remember the last time they had slept in the same bed together. Kichirou had ended that practice a couple of years ago at least, so she knew this was a tactic being used to amplify their cuteness factor. They probably thought the cuter they could be, the more likely they'd be able to butter Inuyasha up for when the question is finally asked. And Kagome had to give it to them, this was a most heart warming sight. 

_ 'I really need to start carrying my phone with me more!'  _ she chastised to herself, giving up on lurking in the dark hallway to lean up against the doorway, soaking up the picture of her family. Inuyasha was nearly done storytelling, his arms waving in the air as he began acting out the big fight scene. Inuyasha must have told this story at least a dozen times over the last year or so, but the children still sat together completely transfixed by their father's gestures. They gasped in all the right places and were still able to quote the  _ legendary  _ Inukane's last words to the dreadful bandit king right before Inukane's sword exacted justice.

Kagome had been a little saddened when Kichirou had said he had grown too old for bedtime stories. She had forgotten how much she missed seeing her two children snuggled up against one another. It was inevitable, as the years went by, that both of them would grow too old to be playing with toys or being read their favourite bedtime stories by their father. She could do nothing to stop the passage of time, her only option to capture these rare fleeting moments and lock them to memory.

"The dog had become very sad to hear about the fate of his village, but Inukane was inspired by the dog's strength despite all the hardships he went through, and offered him a deal. Inukane would look after the dog in exchange for assistance in keeping all bad demons out of his forest and away from the villages. The dog agreed, and from then on became Inukane's most trusted companion. The end."

"And that's why dogs are everyone's best friend!" Koemi exclaimed as she attempted to flourish her entangled hands.

"Well…" Inuyasha never really had the heart to tell his pups that the stories he told them every night weren't real - although he was fairly certain Kichirou knew better. "That is one of many stories out there I'm sure." Inuyasha mentally patted himself on the back for the good save.

"Daddy, you know what that story tells us, right?" Inuyasha had never seen Koemi's eyes enlarge and brighten as they did now. There was no possible way she hadn't rehearsed that just for this moment, and it took him extreme constraint to not groan aloud. He knew exactly what was coming next.

"And what's that pup?" He asked, attempting to tune out that giggling wife of his. He knew he was outnumbered three-to-one when it came to getting a dog, and he needed to be sure of himself in this situation, otherwise he'll be more likely to lose this challenge.

"Inukane wants us to get a puppy!"

"Yeah dad!” Kichirou retorted, backing Koemi up before Inuyasha could get a word in. “Inukane was a great inu youkai warrior. How can we live with not honoring our great ancestor by caring for a dog like he did?"

He knew this line of thought was coming, but he was still baffled by it. Inuyasha shot his son a look from under his bangs, only to receive a humorous glint back. Kichirou knew the story was made up, but Koemi didn't, and if he wanted to refute that last statement Inuyasha would have to confess his lies to his only daughter on the night of her birthday.

_ 'Cheeky little shit.' _

"Look-"

" _ Pleeeeeeeease  _ daddy! I promise to feed the dog everyday, and I'll always keep him brushed. Kichirou said he would help me walk him!" Koemi whined. She had risen onto her knees, untangling herself from Kichirou to clasp her hands together in prayer.

"We'll take good care of the dog, we swear! Please dad?"

Inuyasha was suddenly buried under an endless stream of please's and promises. His ears folded inward in an attempt to drown out his pup’s pleading voices. This was not a conversation he wanted now, not at this hour. He needed to buy himself some time, so in an attempt to delay crushing his pup's hearts in a single moment, he slapped a hand on each of their mouths, stifling their voices.

"Alright,  _ look _ ," he started, giving each pup a stern look meant to advise them that he meant business. "I promise that tomorrow night, we will sit down and talk about the  _ possibility  _ of us getting a dog."

Inuyasha could hear the sharp gasps of his daughter and had to lean more forward to keep his hand across her mouth. 

"You will  _ not  _ hound either myself or your mother throughout the day. After dinner, you will be allowed to make your case, and your mother and I will decide if it's good enough."

One moment, Inuyasha was upright on the bed, and the next he was toppled over, nearly crashing to the floor. Koemi and Kichirou had managed to pin Inuyasha to the bed, darting out from under his hands so quickly that, to their human observer, they were nothing more than two silver blurs. From the doorway, Kagome's giggling began to morph into a deep laugh as Inuyasha tried to talk over their children. According to him, there was always the possibility he would put his foot down and say no to the dog. But she could see how the laughter and smiles that graced their faces began relentlessly breaking down the walls Inuyasha had worked so hard to put up.

Inuyasha was possibly the most stubborn man she had ever met, but Kagome knew that underneath it all, when it came to their children, Inuyasha would do anything to keep those smiles intact. Even if it meant putting his own feelings aside and getting a dog. He just didn’t quite know that last part yet.

Kagome made a split second decision, swiftly and quietly making her way into the bedroom she and Inuyasha shared to grab her phone from within her purse. Rin, who was currently going to school for photography, had volunteered to take all the photos from the party, but Kagome wanted at least one memorable photo to add to her phone's gallery to commemorate the special moment happening just two doors down.

When Kagome made her way back to Koemi's room, she was surprised to find Inuyasha tucking two very sleepy children to bed. It seemed like all the excitement from the day finally wore them down, especially with the knowledge that they could possibly be getting a dog soon. Kagome was slightly disappointed that she wouldn't get a group selfie with her little family, but the sight of Koemi snuggled up into Kichirou's side pushed any melancholic thoughts about it aside.

Kagome came up beside Inuyasha, skimming her hand along his arm. After a few moments, making sure she had a good angle, she snapped a quick photo. Kagome gripped Inuyasha's shoulder, showing him the photo. The lamp that sat on Koemi’s bedside table emitted a golden glow that enveloped the sleeping children in an amber blanket of soft light; the light and shadows blended together dying their naturally silver hair into a burnt orange, similar to the kitsune family that lived down the street.

Kagome looked up from the phone to their children. She grabbed his hand and squeezed lightly.

“It’s like a sunset,” she mused. Kagome was reminded of the day Inuyasha proposed, right at sunrise over the Pacific Ocean. To this day, it was the most beautiful sunrise she had ever witnessed. As Kagome lovingly gazed upon her children, her  _ pups,  _ she saw how the soft amber light that covered them reminded her of a sunset. Except this sight was more beautiful than any other sunset she had ever seen. She smiled warmly at the thought that she spent her best sunrises and sunsets with her husband and children.

Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her into his lap as they sat together and watched their two sleeping children fall deeper and deeper into a restful slumber. They could have watched over Kichirou and Koemi for hours, opting instead to turn off the light and leave the room. Kagome wrapped her arm around Inuyasha’s waist as they began heading downstairs toward the kitchen. Kagome and Inuyasha were looking forward to having a drink together to toast to a wonderful birthday for Koemi.

Inuyasha placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head once they arrived in the kitchen, breaking off to grab the bottle of wine they had previously chilled in the fridge. Kagome finally took a moment to collect her thoughts, breathing in deeply. It had been a long and busy day, but Kagome - with their two beautiful children sleeping soundly upstairs and her amazing husband who was pouring wine - took it all in stride. For now, all was quiet throughout the Taisho residence, and Kagome had some time to rest before diving into plans for the next birthday.

_ ‘Perhaps I can coordinate with the diner for Inuyasha’s birthday,’  _ she pondered lightly, envisioning all the winter themed treats she could concoct for him. Kagome inwardly grinned at herself; not even a full day has passed since and she was already planning another party. She didn’t mind though. Kagome had always liked to keep herself busy, and what better way to do that than to plan the next best birthday bash.

Besides, she’d do anything for that wonderful family of hers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT'S FINALLY DONE Y'ALL!
> 
> Firstly, a BIG thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed my little story! I've gotten a lot of positive reactions from you guys, and it's really helped me crawl out of my shell to be more comfortable in my writing. It's so weird to think all this came from one little White Day one shot. I've had a lot of fun getting back into writing and am ready to take on new challenges!
> 
> So, as far as this particular story goes, it's completed. BUT. I didn't realize how attached I would become once I named their children (and yes I am aware of the new Inuyasha sequel coming out), but I love Koemi and Kichirou too much to give them up. I want to start doing prompt writing, and I figured I could expand more on their life through those than a full story. If that makes any sense? I have some other story ideas I've been dying to get into, so I'll take a small break from this AU for a bit.
> 
> Before I go, a few name meanings if anyone is interested. Kichirou means 'lucky son' and Koemi is 'smiling'. I liked Ko (meaning baby) as a little nickname that Kagome and Inuyasha would like to use with her, since she's the youngest and will always be their baby. Kichirou's name has a lot to do with his birthday and the stigma some people give Kagome and Inuyasha for getting pregnant before marriage. That's definitely a prompt I'll be writing when I comeback to it though! Inukane is one i came up with myself. Kane can mean 'golden', so I though 'Golden Dog' would be a name Inuyasha would come up with then thinking of that bedtime story!


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